First Time You Played Fallout...

[BR4ZIL]

This thread is (at least is supposed to) for people to tell HOW was their first game while the sticky is for people to tell how they discovered the game.

 

[Arcian]

The first time i played FO1, I threw the game casing into the wall and screamed. The gameplay was so off-putting and over-the-top ridiculously hard that I wanted to kill someone. Getting mauled to death by a rat because you didn't invest in enough combat skill to hit the fucking thing? I WANTED to be a goddamn non-combat scholar, so why am I punished for it? What. The. Hell. You guys complain about FO3 "painting players into the combat-corner" when FO1 and FO2 does the EXACT same thing but with an even worse combat system.

It's just... it's just beyond me.

With that rant out of the way I can happily tell you that Fallout is one of THE best post-apoc gaming stories out there. FO2 was overall a better game with an even better story, but since it's basically the same as FO1 in terms of gameplay it was equally frustrating.

Ironically, FO3 went the completely opposite direction - it had a combat system that finally felt fluid and playable, but the RPG and story took such a huge hit that it failed to even feel slightly rewarding in the end. That's Bethesda for you.

Overall, I like Fallout. But not as a game. I like it as an interactive post-apoc book with clunky and infuriating combat pasted on what is otherwise a brilliant universe.

 

[alec]

You do know that you can set combat difficulty to 'Wimpy' (or something like that), yes?

 

[Patton89]

When playing old games, read the manual.
You can turn the game to easy, if you need to.
Also by which rats ? The ones in the very beginning ?

 

[Arcian]

You do know that you can set combat difficulty to 'Wimpy' (or something like that), yes?

I am aware, though I am positivie that I wasn't at that particular time i.e my first ever playthrough. I wasn't to keen on checking the options menu for any game at that time, to be honest.

Though to be fair, my main beef with the combat isn't really the difficulty (since it gets really easy after a few levels even without changing it), it's rather the clunky way it's implemented. Especially the maths behind it. Unlike more modern games where maths-based systems have increments after failed events (say like drop rates in WoW), there just is no increment in FO1 and FO2 which can lead to a number of astonishingly frustrating and drawn-out combat sessions if the numbers decide to mess with you.

Mind you that this is what I've gathered from observations during the countless playthroughs I've done. FO1 and FO2 *may* have increments in hit chance likelihood, but if so they are maliciously selective.

The system worked since it was the norm at the time, but in hindsight I am nothing but happy that it's discontinued.

 

[SharkClub]

Learn to preferences, Combat set to Wimpy and Easy etc. is best for beginners.

 

[goffy59]

It was in 1997-1998 where my brother gave me a copy of the Fallout 1 demo. I'd play that over and over again, intrigued by the computer in the first building. It reminded me of some old school D&D games I used to play but didn't really understand as I was too young. My brother did some work on the interplay website kind of like an intern type deal(the creative department. He had a friend whom payed(or just gave him gifts, not sure exactly) him in video games. Unfortunately, the guy died in a motor cycle accident. He sent us Fallout 1 and a few other games like M.A.X 2 (and some others I can't recall, brain fart). I used to watch my brother play it when I was younger and he would voice act the dialog for me. We had a lot of fun. After getting a little tired of questing, we would go around and kill everyone. We sort of stopped when we were known as child killers.

One day in 1998-99 (not exactly sure), we went to Fry's Electronics and saw Fallout 2 for 60 dollars. Pretty expensive back then. But let me tell you, it was worth it. We bought it because Fallout 1 was so great. After awhile I got sick and tired of watching my brother play and I finally got a hold of F2. I played the hell out of that thing. It actually helped me learn how to read a lot better. I'd get into lots of trouble at school so I didn't really give a shit about school. Suspension was a free day playing video games. Fallout 2 was the game I played all the time. For many years after, I kept coming back to Fallout. I wanted to learn more; I had found the joke website linked from NMA and then I kept coming back to this site for more information. I think I played Fallout 2 so much that I always considered the graphics to be cutting edge, then over the years I realized how dated it was. But that didn't stop me.

I found the double jewel case at Target and bought both games.

Eventually me and my brother found Fallout Tactics, and as much disappointment it brought(wasn't an RPG), we eventually got used to it. We both sort of developed a liking to FOT. I still like that game but I've beaten it so many times I don't play it anymore or I go through a few mission and stop playing it. I also bought that game as well eventually so I didn't have to keep borrowing it from my brother.

Fallout 2 has left an everlasting impression on me and to this day, there is no game that tops Fallout 2. Just my humble opinion.

I wish I could go back and play I've never played it before. That would be amazing!

 

[Buxbaum666]

Getting mauled to death by a rat because you didn't invest in enough combat skill to hit the fucking thing? I WANTED to be a goddamn non-combat scholar, so why am I punished for it?

It was incredibly easy to just outrun the rats in the Vault Entrance cave and get the hell out of there without losing a single hit point. What the hell were you expecting when you decided to be a "non-combat scholar"? You have to pick your fights and often run away with that kind of build. If you want to easily kill everything that moves, you don't pick a "non-combat scholar".

Especially the maths behind it. Unlike more modern games where maths-based systems have increments after failed events (say like drop rates in WoW)

I don't see how "increments" would make any sense. If you have a chance to hit of, say, 30%, it won't suddenly double just because your first shot was a miss. What kind of logic is that?

there just is no increment in FO1 and FO2 which can lead to a number of astonishingly frustrating and drawn-out combat sessions if the numbers decide to mess with you.

Numbers don't decide to mess with you.

ronically, FO3 went the completely opposite direction - it had a combat system that finally felt fluid and playable

If by "fluid and playable" you mean "lvl 2 characters can easily kill Super Mutants with 10mm pistols and gun skills increase damage instead of hit chance", then yeah.

 

[Ausdoerrt]

Yeah, I don't see how the increments would make sense at all. It's basic statistics - if you roll a 3-sided die, you have an equal 1/3 chance for every number every time you roll. Given that FO's aim is to resemble pnp gameplay pretty closely, I don't see a reason to somehow modify that to make the game easier for the player. Countless people playing pnp somehow not only survived it, but love it to bits.