Fallout 3: Quests

[bonustime]

My main problem with it is that he really doesn't put enough focus on the reward. It just doesn't seem like during the conversation there would be enough incentive for doing the act(unless you happened to be psychotic or whatever) regardless of what you end up getting for it. There isn't any dialogue to try to press him for information on the reward either.

 

[warsaw]

Doesn't make it any less silly to ask a complete stranger to do this in the middle of the town you want to blow up.

This quest would be at least a bit less silly if it was given to you at Tenpenny Tower.

Or, hell, even just outside of Megaton would've been fine for me. It's obvious they wanted the quest to be one of the player's first choices, but you'd think they would have handled it with a bit more logic.

My main problem with it is that he really doesn't put enough focus on the reward. It just doesn't seem like during the conversation there would be enough incentive for doing the act(unless you happened to be psychotic or whatever) regardless of what you end up getting for it. There isn't any dialogue to try to press him for information on the reward either.

That's something that bothered me, too. If he outright offered you the "luxurious" apartment, and a huge bag of bottlecaps, there'd be a little more incentive to blowing the town up than, "I FEEL LIKE BEING MEAN TODAY HOW 'BOUT YOU?"

 

[archont]

I've lurked NMA for a while. I disagreed with people who already condemned F3 before it was out. I believed that with the budget, the best people and the leading RPG studio Fallout 3 can't go wrong.

I still can't come to terms with the realization of just how wrong I was.

To all those guys I've talked - brother none included, sorry for being a stupid asshole.

Now, once I've got that off my chest..

You know why Fallout 2 was memorable? Not because you went around and killed people, not because you could use big loud retro-looking guns, and not because of it's aging graphics. It's because your mind was constantly tickled with new things. Interesting dialogues, unique quests and choices to be made. All of them had feeling put into them. Remember for example the chit-chat you had with the Enclave via the Gecko reactor? Do you imagine how utterly lifeless it would sound if Beth did that?

That's the problem. I've read in one review Beth decided to throw together a bunch of cool shit and call it F3. That's not the problem, not in my mind anyway. Blowing up a city? The idea is great, it's just that the way it's done isn't. The same applies for most aspects - great idea, but no inspiration whatsoever in the making.

Dialogues are to blame, in great part. Beth claims they have more text in-game than both F1 and F2. And all of it actually spoken. So what, if most of the lines sound utterly like crap? But even that aside, the conversations are always generic. You rarely get to hear something interesting or ask a unique question. The text isn't there because someone had an idea for a character, it's there to meet the quota. And it's transparent.

Also, 200 endings my ass. Could've as well written OVER NINE THOUSAAANNNDDD!!! - better marketing.

 

[zodden]

Ok I have lurked here for years. I think I even had another account here almost a decade ago. I can't remember. This article has prompted me to post

This is one of the major problems I have with the game. The Karma system is terrible. First off there is no valid reason for blowing up megaton. 19 year old kid leaves vault, wanders into the largest city around and a guy in a tavern calls you over to ask you to blow up the town. Borders on the nonsensical. Just an excuse (and an easy way out for Bethesda) for the character to be defined as a bad guy from there on out. How about delving a little deeper Bethesda?

As to Roy, even more silly. He tells you that he's planning to open a door and let mutated cannibals in for a mass murder. Then when you do let him in peacefully (I did) and come back later only to discover the truth and shoot him in the head I lose Karma? Huh? Then, even though I am good and Threedog sings my praises left and right he calls me a scumbag? Makes no sense.

I gain Karma also for helping a sick fuck who ate his parents to be able to leave the vampires and go back home. Huh? Shouldn't I gain karma for shooting this sicko in the head? Shouldn't I gain karma for even letting those sickos keep an eye on this guy? Yet Three dog gets on the radio and mentions I rescued this guy.

 

[Beelzebud]

There is also the problem that the town would be ok with a guy sitting in their local saloon asking every stranger who wanders in to town to blow the place up.

Ugh- I hate to be on the defensive side, but: Mr. Burke didn't ask everyone. He was waiting for a stranger to walk in to town;

Hence why I said "stranger"...

 

[Crni Vuk]

What is weird about the conversation is that it is within earshot of everyone in the bar. You walk up to him, and immediately he offers you to blow up the town, but there would certainly be people hearing this and pounce on him.

Yea well its nice for a game from Bethesda to have quests here with some differences and options. But still the way how you get those quests and way they are done ... feels always so artifical. You know what I mean?

 

[warsaw]

There is also the problem that the town would be ok with a guy sitting in their local saloon asking every stranger who wanders in to town to blow the place up.

Ugh- I hate to be on the defensive side, but: Mr. Burke didn't ask everyone. He was waiting for a stranger to walk in to town;

Hence why I said "stranger"...

Why did I read that as everyone? Argument nulled.

 

[Cimmerian Nights]

I believed that with the budget, the best people and the leading RPG studio Fallout 3 can't go wrong.

You didn't know Todd Howard and Bethesda were doing it?

 

[moyogo]

You didn't know Todd Howard and Bethesda were doing it?

For people who have been up on this RPG stuff, I get this comment. My ass was in college and not sleeping (much less playing games), so I could understand getting exciting at a generic game announcement (opportunity for escape).

In a major irony, the announcement and really early hype for Fallout 3 inspired me to check out the originals (a benefit of not having much money?). And I've discovered some good games to say the least.

This comment isn't at all a flame or attack, just bringing up the possibilities of new information to new people.

 

[Slaughter Manslaught]

The Power of the Atom is just one of the silliest Fallout 3 quests.
Why?

Sheriff Lucas Simms: Hey, you there, totally unknown guy/gal from a vault. I like you, we got a armed nuclear bomb in town, no one to disarm.

Player: Can I disarm it?

Sheriff: Sure, feel free to do it.

In the bar...

Burke: Good day. I'm sitting in this bar and I feel kinda crazy today, wanna blow this town? I can give you some caps for it.

Player: Eeeer, sure?

It's kinda strange that both Simms and Burke somehow instantly trust you with deadly matters. It would be much better if both gave you, say, two or three quests first, so Power of the Atom would be given to you because you proved to be trustworthy, reliable and competent to Simms/Burke.

Problem 1: The quest and Moira's dialogue pretty much tell you that IF you disarm that bomb, the Cult will come pissed at you with Torches and Pitchfork, which is both a risk and a interesting outcome. Problem is, that never happens at all. They don't even care that you are messing with the bomb to rig/disarm it. Not even a "please stop messing with our holy artifact." If they don't get pissed, why Moira didn't disarm the bomb? It seems she had the skills to do it.

Problem 2: Disarming a nuclear bomb is easier than disarming a mine. With 25 explosives skill, you just go there and... *disarm* the bomb. Somehow. And it takes just a moment... WTF?! So some noob who knows a bit about explosives leaves out of the vault and then disarms a nuclear explosive... That simply makes no fucking sense. The Power of the Atom would've a much better quest if you had to seek in some places the means, the tools and the info to disarm that bomb, maybe tripping into Burke's band of merry hired mercenaries on the way, then returning to Megaton and disarming that bomb, gaining a lot of money, a well-deserved house and the gratitude of the townsfolk and being well-know as a nice guy by wastelanders in general.

Problem 3: Why Tenpenny wants to explode that godforsaken literal hole of a town? Because he likes pretty lights? Because he thinks it's ugly? Holy shit... It would make much more sense if Burke was a Enclave Agent using Tenpenny's senile mind to get the means to eliminate Megaton and also spread a lot of radiated fallout all over Washington DC, killing a lot of wastelanders who the Enclave wants to see gone. Also, NO ONE comments on the nuclear fallout of the explosion. AT ALL. The falling fallout could easily kill Arefu and force all the people in Tenpenny's Tower to get inside for a freaking week. After the explosion, you don't even see any nuclear fallout in the DC area. At all. FALLOUT. It's on the name of the game.

This quest could've been much, much better. But it failed. Utterly.

 

[Tigranes]

Why? Simple, this kind of stuff screams of a disorganised and flawed methodology. Maybe it was 'design by committee'. Maybe someone got a bit too excited about what the player should be able to do, and that was prioritised over the internal coherence of the setting (a common flaw with devs this decade). Maybe there was a convoluted, back-and-forth design process. Whatever.

It seems quite probable to me that "the ability to blow up a town" was the very first thing in their minds, as Young says. And then, wanting to make this happen for everyone early in the game. Which is a good idea in a variety of ways. It makes sure that you run into something ineteresting from the get-go, and a town / base of operations (instead of wandering around getting yourself killed with nowhere to rest / replenish supplies); it links you to Tenpenny Towers; it is a popular concept (both explosion and making significant choices). The problem was what happened after, because most of it is patchwork.

There's no point looking for justifications in why Moira didn't disarm, why townspeople feel safe living near it, what the hell is up with that cult, what is up with Burke/Tenpenny, etc., because Bethesda themselves didn't do a good job of thinking it out or implementing what they thought out.

If only they did half the work they spent on the Android, or those interminable sets of pre-war log entries on terminals.

 

[Patton89]

Why would anyone want to blow up A WORKING NUKE, when they could steal it ?
I mean, you could steal the fissile material and the important parts, and make a new bomb. It would make more sense, it the bomb would be stolen and then used to threaten people to join Burkes/Tenpennys authoritian rule, or even used to enclaves purpose of destroying wastelanders. Why use it to blow up a useless town ? It could make them powerfull and influential, might even make BoS stay away, and give them freedom to create, and rule, a new empire.

But noooo, we must use it to blow up a non-important little town, in pointless scene of stupidity.

 

[Westbend]

My problem with The Power of the Atom quest is in part what Patton89 mentioned.

Why would powerful factions like the Brotherhood, Enclave or even the supermutants, just leave such incredibly powerful weapon alone, sitting in a puddle of water, in a shithole of a town?
I mean, damnit, you coulda centered the main quest around the Nuke and the factions struggles to obtain it for various ends, and you'd have a main story that was atleast somewhat compelling and interesting then the limp, unexciting, greenpeace pamphlet main quest there is now.
I could see the Enclave swoopin in on Vertibirds, burning Megaton to the ground, and leg it with the Nuke for some nefarious deed.

But then again, the whole idea of a functioning a-bomb surviving any kind of impact hard enough to leave a crater is ridiculous.
Ive always thought that it shoulda been an old ICBM silo hid away under Megaton, with one ICBM (or more) still intact, stored in an airtight environment. Whereupon you could read (and find) the heartwrenching story of the last days of the Silo crew or something of that nature. But no, we get treated as friggen retards.
"Heres a nuke in a puddle, lawl."

Sigh...

 

[jamesmcm]

The Power of the Atom is just one of the silliest Fallout 3 quests.
Why?

Sheriff Lucas Simms: Hey, you there, totally unknown guy/gal from a vault. I like you, we got a armed nuclear bomb in town, no one to disarm.

Player: Can I disarm it?

Sheriff: Sure, feel free to do it.

In the bar...

Burke: Good day. I'm sitting in this bar and I feel kinda crazy today, wanna blow this town? I can give you some caps for it.

Player: Eeeer, sure?

It's kinda strange that both Simms and Burke somehow instantly trust you with deadly matters. It would be much better if both gave you, say, two or three quests first, so Power of the Atom would be given to you because you proved to be trustworthy, reliable and competent to Simms/Burke.

Problem 1: The quest and Moira's dialogue pretty much tell you that IF you disarm that bomb, the Cult will come pissed at you with Torches and Pitchfork, which is both a risk and a interesting outcome. Problem is, that never happens at all. They don't even care that you are messing with the bomb to rig/disarm it. Not even a "please stop messing with our holy artifact." If they don't get pissed, why Moira didn't disarm the bomb? It seems she had the skills to do it.

Problem 2: Disarming a nuclear bomb is easier than disarming a mine. With 25 explosives skill, you just go there and... *disarm* the bomb. Somehow. And it takes just a moment... WTF?! So some noob who knows a bit about explosives leaves out of the vault and then disarms a nuclear explosive... That simply makes no fucking sense. The Power of the Atom would've a much better quest if you had to seek in some places the means, the tools and the info to disarm that bomb, maybe tripping into Burke's band of merry hired mercenaries on the way, then returning to Megaton and disarming that bomb, gaining a lot of money, a well-deserved house and the gratitude of the townsfolk and being well-know as a nice guy by wastelanders in general.

Problem 3: Why Tenpenny wants to explode that godforsaken literal hole of a town? Because he likes pretty lights? Because he thinks it's ugly? Holy shit... It would make much more sense if Burke was a Enclave Agent using Tenpenny's senile mind to get the means to eliminate Megaton and also spread a lot of radiated fallout all over Washington DC, killing a lot of wastelanders who the Enclave wants to see gone. Also, NO ONE comments on the nuclear fallout of the explosion. AT ALL. The falling fallout could easily kill Arefu and force all the people in Tenpenny's Tower to get inside for a freaking week. After the explosion, you don't even see any nuclear fallout in the DC area. At all. FALLOUT. It's on the name of the game.

This quest could've been much, much better. But it failed. Utterly.

Yeah, I think we really need a community mod to address things like this. It could be fixed relatively easily and if we do this for a few quests it would make the game much better and deeper.

I love the gameplay of Fallout 3, but it does make me sad that Van Buren was canceled as it looked much more playable than FO2 (real-time combat) and it'd be interesting to see how they'd have updated it. Bethesda could have at least softened the blow a little by making the quests deeper and the story more though out

 

[mountaingoat]

Also, 200 endings my ass. Could've as well written OVER NINE THOUSAAANNNDDD!!! - better marketing.

Actually you can have almost all but 3 of the different endings being decided by your choices at the last few minutes of the game. – Woot !!!-
[spoiler:2d76f8d1a3]It’s the permutations between either you or Lyons going to the chamber and using or not the modified FEV at the auxiliary machine, or …stand still taking no action for three minutes.[/spoiler:2d76f8d1a3] (Lazy design or incompetence Beth ?)

The three that left out are the actions you’d taken regarding Agatha’s song ,Big town and the Lincoln memorial quests.
At least as far as I remember, please correct me if I’m wrong, from the whole game these are the only ones vaguely mentioned (without descriptions, just Photos) after game’s ending.

 

[Jenx]

What makes me sad is that most of the ideas about The Power of the Atom posted in here sound a lot better then the original quest in the game.

Also, since I haven't played the game (and don't really plan to) - how big is the Megaton nuke? I'm asking because, if anyone remembers, in Fallout Tactics there was a mission where some ghouls actually had a working nuclear warhead (not a very big one, if I remember)...and pretty much the second the super mutants found that out they stormed the town and kept it under siege (your mission being to clear out the mutants so they don't get to the bomb). Soooo the super mutants in Fallout Tactics were willing to sacrifice a few dozen of their soldiers and 4 commanders to get to a warhead guarded by ghouls and the Brotherhood......but none of the factions in Fallout 3 even gives a damn about a working nuke sitting in the middle of a town, protected only by a sheriff who asks the first person he meets to go and disarm it?

 

[Crni Vuk]

maybe Shamus Young just has not played the right Fallout quets ...

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOtx0Y0xQLc[/youtube]

 

[M-26-7]

Also, 200 endings my ass. Could've as well written OVER NINE THOUSAAANNNDDD!!! - better marketing.

Actually you can have almost all but 3 of the different endings being decided by your choices at the last few minutes of the game. – Woot !!!-
[spoiler:f226ea8e20]It’s the permutations between either you or Lyons going to the chamber and using or not the modified FEV at the auxiliary machine, or …stand still taking no action for three minutes.[/spoiler:f226ea8e20] (Lazy design or incompetence Beth ?)

The three that left out are the actions you’d taken regarding Agatha’s song ,Big town and the Lincoln memorial quests.
At least as far as I remember, please correct me if I’m wrong, from the whole game these are the only ones vaguely mentioned (without descriptions, just Photos) after game’s ending.

Actually I kind of like this. It shows the mallibility of human beings. [spoiler:f226ea8e20]Maybe your totally evil character has a change of heart at the last minute and just can't bring himself to kill so many people so he goes in himself. Or maybe your good character has a streak of cowardice and sends Lyon in instead.[/spoiler:f226ea8e20]
I don't think it was explored enought though.

 

[warsaw]

I don't think it was explored enought though.

What part of the game could you not apply this to?

 

[Ixyroth]

I had to check rationality at the door before I played this game. When you look back on it, did any of it make any sense? I can't find any - the main plot, NPCs' motivations, the jarring improbability of the characters' circumstances and how they were living (the vaults, Lamplight, Megaton and Tenpenny in particular). Too many mismatched pieces just thrown together for effect rather than creating a cohesive, believable world where the laws of physics apply.