Disappointment.Does it get any better? (long rant)

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Pennywise

First time out of the vault
First time poster, English is not my first language, so please don't go picking on my spelling/grammar.

I've been a fan of computer RPGs for a while now. I've played the original Fallout games, I've actually started Fallout 2 more than 20 times, finished it maybe 6 or 7. I've also played the Baldurs Gate series, Planescape, Gothic and a few more. In the last few years i have not played many rpgs mainly because i have not found any titles that i like. I started Morrowind, played maybe for 30+ hours and dumped it. I tried Oblivion - it took me 30 mins and i never installed it again. I tried MMORPGs ( WOW) but they take too much time and get boring after a while. So I've stuck to strategies and quests
When i found out Fallout 3 is coming out i was kind of excited. Upgraded my PC a bit ( never needed any hardware changes in the last 2 years because i never really found a game that is worth it), read some previews, checked the official forums. I though - hmm, FP fallout? Well, Gothic was FP and the overall feel of the game was pretty good. So i got the game.
Huge disappointment - what the hell is wrong with everyone? Has gaming changed so much in the last years? I was shocked by the reviews - everyone praising the game so much. I checked some forums and noticed something strange (to me at least). Everyone admitted the game has lots of flaws, but they all expected a modding tool, so that the community can fix them?! Since when is the community supposed to fix the major flaws and bugs that the gaming company that releases the title has done nothing about? That is so wrong its not even funny - the companies will start releasing even more bugged/flawed titles with modding tools and say - you don't like it, you fix it.
Anyway, about the game.
Skills feel useless, if you have enough lockpick/science/explosives/whatever to try something, you automatically succeed. You don't need % for that, you might as well get 4 skills levels basic/advanced/master/grandmaster or whatever. Basically it makes no difference if i have 51 or 74 lockpicking, i still can't get that hard lock. And if i have 75, i always pick it. S.P.E.C.I.A.L does nothing. Absolutely nothing, i can carry some more useless stuff if i got more STR or i get to put 5 more points in the skills (that don't really scale) if i get INT. Maybe if luck is a factor in something i have not encountered yet?

I'm about 15 hours in, level 10, never touched the main quest beyond Megaton.
Did some exploring and side quests. The side quests were plain awful - the Megaton bomb quest i did without even realizing it, i just went to check the bomb with basically no explosives skill and i disarmed it?! The Those! quest drove me insane -
[spoiler:d19eb90e33] i tell the kid that his dad is dead and he is all alone in the wasteland, and what i get in response is 'Oh well, what the hell. Go kill some more ants then'. It appears that i started an Android (?) quest, i am not sure what that is all about - i got 2 recordings and forgot about them. Few hours later, literally in the middle of nowhere (i was exploring the wasteland), a woman appears out of the thin air and goes - leave us alone. What? So she starts explaining to me about her top secret organization that wants to free androids (what?!) and how i should leave them alone. After telling her that i have no idea what she is talking about she goes - oh well, then how about me telling you our big secret then?
[/spoiler:d19eb90e33] Honestly, i did a save/quit and took a few hours of rest afterward. Read a few forums and i got the impression that it gets better later on. So i read that quite a lot of people liked the 'Blood lines' quest. So here we go.
[spoiler:d19eb90e33]Basically - the dude eats his parents, and i pat him on the back going 'oooh, its OK, we all feel like snacking when there are no supermarkets open sometimes' and i get NO KARMA PENALTY FOR IT?!And i get my karma lowered for stealing a worthless plate?WTF?[/spoiler:d19eb90e33]
So that's about as far as i got.
I will not go into detail about my frustration over the combat system, environment,bugs (i shot 17- counted- scoped magnum shots in an mirelurk while Dogmeat was tanking it without damaging it. with 92 small guns skill.i died - naturally - and loaded and the thing died in 2 shots?!) and so on.
I've stumbled upon these forums,read for the last few days (whats work for anyway) and found out that most of the people here don't share the general enthusiasm about this game (hmm, i wonder why). So i am hoping of a more objective opinion from you guys - does it get at least a little better later on? The questing and skillchecks? The dialogue? I can swallow the FPS clickfest if i get a good storyline later on.
I am truly disappointed and a bit confused having read all those 20/10 previews. I do realize that previewers get paid but this is beyond ridiculous
And thanks to everyone that bothered to read that.
 
Well, thanks for sharing your views!

English isn't my first language either, but hey, I do my best! I do also suspect that most of the people here are europeans, and of those, most do not have english as a first language.

Your ability to communicate effectively is paramount. Most people will not read your article, not because your spelling, but rather how you've split it up in terms of paragraphs and how your text is worded. It does get better with some practice though!

Many times people will insult you in some way when they do not get everything written in perfect english, but it also doesn't hurt to get some constructive advice like I'm trying to give you here.

Answer to your question: No, it does not get any better.

Planescape: Torment has destroyed your hope of getting a game that is deeper and better. We can only wish I am wrong on this point.
 
Delogic said:
Many times people will insult you in some way when they do not get everything written in perfect english
Click to expand...

Fuck you, English is spelt with a capital E!
 
First off, both of you have quite superb English!

Here are a few things you will come to expect:

I lost count of every time that I was forced to mention something in conversation with a NPC that I had not actually experienced in the game. It was incredibly confusing since this is a visually based game. (this is referring to Pennywise's experience with the Android, for example).

Here's one thing I have NEVER encountered in a game before: I did a lot of side questing in between the Main Quest. I did a lot, but I felt that I had only explored 1/5th of the entire map. Well, once I began to really get rolling on the main quest, I realized, looking through the potential perks that I could get down the line, that they stopped at level 20. Level 20? I was level 18 and I had only explored 1/5th of the map!! Yes, the level cap is at level 20 and the perk list you are given at the beginning is the complete one. Now, yes, this is similar to Fallout 1 and 2, but it also wasn't NEARLY as easy to level up so fast. It also doesn't help that there is basically no change between levels 5-20, and that none of the perks are fun or interesting.


I admit I am very bitter about this game. There is some good to it, but it suffers from the EXACT same problems as Oblivion. Really. Even progression throughout the game has the same problems: while there is no more creature leveling (which could be argued), it doesn't matter because you can kill a supermutant with nearly as much ease at level 3 as that of level 20.

I am REALLY confused as to why Fallout 3 is getting such amazing reviews. I really am. It is an incredibly mediocre game in all ways. Honestly, do you think Bethesda is a great developer because it makes Sandbox games? Do you really think it is that much harder to make a game a giant square map than it is a giant line?
The "cinematic" effects in this game are laughable. The sound is horrible (anyone else had problems with bizarre 3d sound locations?). To me, the graphic engine's sole achievement is the sky's lighting (and no other lighting). Dialogue is about as believable and as engaging as... god, I can't even think of something as underwhelming that calls itself an RPG. The character models even seem like a step-back from Oblivion (plastic, clean looking frail people with angular soft faces? Why? Every hat looks rediculous also; one of the newer features of the engine!)

Okay I'm stopping my rant.
Pennywise, I somewhat enjoyed the game at about the half-way point. Once I started getting down into parts of the game that should have been engrossing, but were not, I started to truly get angry with the game. I stopped playing the game several days ago, decided to start again this afternoon, and then beat the game within 30 minutes of resuming play (THAT WAS IT?!?)
 
The problem I've been having is that the main quest line holds zero appeal for me; so I'm combing the entire map looking for interesting side quests, and murdering everyone who isn't part of said quests.
 
Basically you could probably finish the main storyline quest at lvl 8 or so .. and you'd have visited nearly nothing in the wasteland..
Or you can explore a bit and hit lvl cap way before you start on the main quest ..

All and all thats the least of fallout 3's problems imho ..

The level cap makes sence as by then you maxed out most of your character anyway and theres not much challenge left in combat..
if you would get to a theoretical lvl 30 or so ( give or take a few lvl's) youd have maxed out everything ..
 
The game made me happy one time but then ruined it for me again with the metaphorical killing of the franchise with Harold begging you to kill him. The one moment that is worth it is that your actions in Tenpenny tower if you go the ghoul route has a big change and that reminded me of the first 2 but the thing was the whole games were like that. Hell Redding and New Reno had many endings and there are no boss monsters no compelling figures like the Master, and that Enclave president you do not even want to know. It is just in the mold of Oblivion i mean vampires should have told you that so there is no real saving grace.
 
I am pretty much done with this game. Today i encountered my first super mutant master. The supposedly very strong critter got stuck in a pile of shopping carts and just started waving its sledgehammer at me. I actually shot him down out of pity.
After that i encountered my first talking supermutant. My first line was - wow , you can talk! My second was - how come you name is Uncle Leo (how on Earth did i understood what his name was!?). And that was about it. You encounter a friendly mutant after you get continuously shot by its kind and all you get as a dialogue option is 'How come your name is Uncle Leo?!'. This is the point where it became too much.
Thanks to everyone who replied, looks like this game is not for me.
 
I recommend you look at the modding-section. Right now I try not to see much of the game, but test out mods. So far the game is already a lot better. Doesn't change the dialogs/awful scripting - yet. It needs to be balanced out, and in order to do so, one needs his own expierence just to know what fits and what doesn't. so ignore the shitty quests for now and try to understand how the gameengine works and what mod will improve the expierence. this way you are 1.) entertaint 2.) contribut to the cause and 3.) you are ready when the big mods hit the place.
 
I can't understand the 101% reviews either, I just can't. Just the animations, dialogues and combat deserve some negative points, and that's the obvious you notice in the first ten minutes of play ; how could the reviewers miss that ? Am I just too demanding of the game, should I just bend over and take it like a ma-ture gamer ?
 
Johnnyhorse said:
I lost count of every time that I was forced to mention something in conversation with a NPC that I had not actually experienced in the game. It was incredibly confusing since this is a visually based game. (this is referring to Pennywise's experience with the Android, for example).
Click to expand...

This is where I have an issue too. After I decided to screw Megaton for a few, I went outside to explore the world. I went to a little destroyed town and ventured into a lady's house (I'm sorry. I don't remember her name honestly.). She started talking about Moriarty. I had never even talked to him about her, but one of the options was, "Moriarty told me to come and get his money back." Excuse me? This is the first time I've even seen you referenced in the game. How can I get money back from someone I didn't even know existed?

Small issue, I know, but it irked me.
 
I found to that house before I had visited Megaton for the first time. She gave me 300 caps, so what.
 
That was a quest?
This was the first thing i did after leaving the vault. I wondered about her giving me caps, but i figured that Beth. implemented it as a weird way of giving starting money to new players. And I spoke with Moriarty afterward and he never mentions anything about her or him missing money? Wow, that is actually supposed to be a quest?!
 
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