Am I missing something?

I

Idioteque

First time out of the vault
I finally bought Fallout recently and was really looking forward to playing it after hearing so many good things about it. After two hours playing it so far, I am distinctly unimpressed.

The first 10-20 minutes were spent in a cave killing rats and getting used to the control system. Fair enough, almost all RPGs over 10 years old have you killing rats at first (some still do it now). I then get to a map and decide to head over to Vault 15 as it's the only place on my map. However, I was waylaid by Rodscorpions and died. Foolishly I hadn't saved so I had to go through the lovely process of killing a cave full of rats again.

Once the rats had tasted my wrath I headed off to vault 15 again but this time I noticed a green area so thought I would see what was there. A city. "Great!" I thought, surely a place where I can get some interesting quests, maybe find directions to a "dungeon" or Fallout equivalent. But after scouring the place all I am able to find is a few people that chat to me but don't say anything of significance and a bloke called Ian who I convince to join me.

I then head over to vault 15 but I am waylaid by 4 Rodscorpions this time and killed again.

I reload, then head over to vault 15 AGAIN and finally get there. After 10 minutes of clearing the bad guys I get to an elevator shaft and I'm told that I need to get some rope. I don't have any rope. I have no idea where I might get any rope and I have no money with which to buy any rope if I did manage to find someone to sell me some rope.

So I head back to the town I initially found and after the tedious process of exploration I find nothing of use or of interest. So I head back to vault 13 this time to see if I'd missed anything there. Here I am able to enter a bulding. I search through the first two floors, each time after opening a door having to open it AGAIN when I walk out of the door 10 seconds later. I have to do this with about 30 doors. So I save my game and go get something to eat.


I haven't just come here to try to annoy you all and tell you that your favourite game is crap. I REALLY want to like this game but so far it has been torture. I don't want any spoilers but when does it get interesting? Is there something basic that I'm not doing? Is there any way to easily identify the people or things that I can interact with (so far it has been trial and error and mostly error). Where is the best place to start and are there even any quests at the start? Everywhere I go I seem to die :( .

Any help, tips or pointers would be much appreciated (I am determined to like this game!).
 
Reading the manual is generally a good way to start off with any RPG. If you don't have it on your CD, it can be downloaded from here. Also, if you get stuck, make sure to check Per's Nearly Ultimate Fallout Guide.
Oh, by the way, make sure to patch the game as well.

I think that should be enough to get you started.
 
Kahgan said:
Either you have to use per's nearly ultimate walkthrough: http://user.tninet.se/~jyg699a/fallout.html

(and probably meet some spoilers)

or, no offense, but you have to become more intelligent and/or perceptive.

edit: mr. pastorius was two seconds before me.
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It just seems a bit ridiculous that I have to speak to 20 identical NPCs on a map and only 1 of them will have anything useful or of consequence to say.

I'll check the guide though, cheers.
 
That's why, when you examine NPCs, their name shows up in the info box on the lower left corner of the interface, that way you can distinguish filler NPCs from unique ones, who can actually give you info, quests etc
 
Idioteque said:
It just seems a bit ridiculous that I have to speak to 20 identical NPCs on a map and only 1 of them will have anything useful or of consequence to say.
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Named NPCs have useful stuff to say, unnamed ones do not.

That's a standard cRPG convention, it applies to Fallout too.
 
I feel your pain Idioteque, I just downloaded Wasteland a few weeks ago and think it is the most horrible game I have ever played.

There is a nostalgia to Fallout for people who played it back when it came out, you would have thought it was great back then. It is like Marylin Monroe and how she is thought of this iconic beauty (is there any truth in that?).

There is not much to it unless you have lived with the game when it was the greatest thing out there. Today there is FPS that is just too engaging to compete with the slow pace of turn-based. Same reason people would rather play a video game then play a board game or do a PnP.
 
Would you please elaborate on the "not much to it" part a little more? I'm interested in hearing how Fallout doesn't offer much, as opposed to new titles. Leave arguments like "pretty graphics" out of it, too, that is an RPG game, not an FPS.
 
Idioteque said:
Any help, tips or pointers would be much appreciated (I am determined to like this game!).
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A tip that can save your life: If you encounter opponents that aren't rats and you're outnumbered and don't have superior firepower and armour, run away.
 
Serbaside said:
There is not much to it unless you have lived with the game when it was the greatest thing out there. Today there is FPS that is just too engaging to compete with the slow pace of turn-based. Same reason people would rather play a video game then play a board game or do a PnP.
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I'm sorry, but the amount of people that play board games and PnP has not significantly been in decline since the ascension of video games.

Your logic is somewhat flawed. Fallout has qualities that are timeless. Sure, it also has things you could put up with more easily back then, like the pace of turn-based combat (there's a speed slider in the options, by the way) or the kill-the-rats opening, but those aren't inherent flaws, they're just thresholds you have to get yourself past to enjoy the core, which is intact through the ages.

This also applies to older games, like Wasteland, it's just that the threshold gets higher with time. Compared to some of its contemporaries, though, I must say Fallout has aged better.
 
Sorrow, with the best of intention, take a chill-pill. Counter-trolling won't get us anywhere, especially now when NMA is trying to get rid of the reputation of rabid fanboys.

Anyway, back on topic. Serbaside, there's more to games than graphics, fast-paced action and Immershun, especially when it comes to RPGs. Wasteland (and Fallout, respectively) has extremely dated graphics, true, but no other type of narration can replace written text. Ever. While visual and audible give you a done deed, text leaves a lot of room for imagination, and that's where its strongest point lies.
 
First off, lemme just say this: nobody forces you to like Fallout *hides under the table until the stoning ends then comes back out again* It's a great game, no doubt about that. But nobody forces you to like it. I know a lot of people, a lot of RPG players to, who played it and just didn't like the game. That's not the end of the world.

But if you ARE determined to like the game, then here we go: First off, nobody is forcing you to kill anything (at the beginning at least). If you try, you will be amazed how much can be accomplished with talking and sneaking around.

I would also advice you to slow down. I know you're probably eager to get t the "good parts", but don't rush things. From what I've read, the only reason why any of this happened is because you were rushing. Try to take your time, look around, explore, talk to people. Get to know the world you're in. Sure sure, there's a timelimit and all that. But it sill allows you to do some exploring around the towns.
 
tuff

That's the nice thing about Fallout games. They can be tuff and challenging. Expecting to conquer every encounter your first time seeing it is suicidal.

There are some NPC's who appear common and not unique but do offer some clues or same some unique things.

Before you give up on it make sure it's pacthed and try Fallout 2 with the Killap patch. FO2 is far better than FO 1 IMO.
 
Sorrow said:
Serbaside said:
Because, totally, there weren't FPS games in times of Fallout :roll: .
Ever heard of Quake, Quake 2, Blood, etc?
Do you fucking thing that they weren't engaging?
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Ok so I used the wrong words. Yes there has been FPS for a long time, and as far as style of game play it far out ranks turn-base in popularity because, as I said, it is more engaging. I never said Quake etc were not engaging, in fact I said they are engaging because after all they are FPS.

mr. pastorius said:
Anyway, back on topic. Serbaside, there's more to games than graphics, fast-paced action and Immershun, especially when it comes to RPGs. Wasteland (and Fallout, respectively) has extremely dated graphics, true, but no other type of narration can replace written text. Ever. While visual and audible give you a done deed, text leaves a lot of room for imagination, and that's where its strongest point lies.
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Well I never said anything about graphics. Idioteque is saying Fallout is repetitive, as I think Wasteland is. FPS does not feel this way because it is quick action. I would be interested in knowing what RPGs Idioteque thinks are good.

As far as imagination I am not sold on the idea text leads to more imagination, depends on how much of an imagination you have to start with. I am sure some people just see words, while other people can see images and easily imagine other things.

Brother None said:
I'm sorry, but the amount of people that play board games and PnP has not significantly been in decline since the ascension of video games.
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I disagree, but I cannot provide any evidence so I will end it with that.
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RPGs I think are good are as follows:

Baldur's Gate 1 and 2 + expansions.
Knights of the Old Republic 1 and 2.
Elder Scrolls series.
Final Fantasy VII (the others are good as well but VII is my clear favourite).
Diablo 1 and 2.
Ultima series.

I'm going to keep with Fallout and hope to add it to that list.
 
Well, it's not the best fit for that group. It belongs me amongst the more "hardcore" (so to speak) RPGs, like Planescape: Torment, Arcanum, the Witcher, Gold Box series,Realms of Arkania, that kind of stuff.

FF is a jRPG and the Diablos are hack and slashes, both a complete genre away from Fallout. TES are roguelikes. If those are your games, than indeed, Fallout might just not be the game for you. But at least you're giving it a chance. Use some of the tips from here and try to be patient while you get used to the game's mannerisms.
 
i didnt like planescape torment that much, i mean it wasnt bad but it was so strange..its better then some of the other games out there though.
 
Serbaside said:
I just downloaded Wasteland a few weeks ago and think it is the most horrible game I have ever played.
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BANNED



(for abandonwarez talk, natch)


PS. Don't derail the thread into a general RPG discussion.
 
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