Niner1209
First time out of the vault
So I'm new to the original fallouts and honestly confused. Where am I supposed to go first and who do I talk to?
GETTING STARTED IN FO1
- Thread starter Niner1209
- Start date
First time out of the vault
Start by heading to Vault 15. If you find any settlements on your way, they'll probably make good places to stop, ask around for help, info, and supplies, and see how things have been faring in the world since the bombs fell.
As to who you talk to-- literally everyone who's not an unnamed wasteland skag. The number of named NPCs in the game who don't offer vital hints, quest opportunities, merchant services, or useful and enriching background info is, relatively, remarkably low. There are some people you'll definitely regret trying to make small talk with, but that brings me to the next important bit:
You didn't ask, but if I could give you any one piece of general advice, it would be to save often, and in different slots. About to enter a new town? Save. About to talk to someone important-looking? Save. Making a crucial choice? Save. Haven't saved in awhile? Save. Even moreso than most of the RPGs of its day, Fallout could leave you in some especially unforgiving spots depending on your choices, and it helps to not have to reload from too far back. Never save during combat, though-- the game doesn't handle it well at all.
Not much of a spoiler, but of course, you will find a small village between V13 and V15 or I wouldn't have mentioned it. You're probably too low-level to successfully complete most of the quests there, but ask around and get to know the locals and the lay of the land. Don't neglect to recruit Ian while you're here, even if you've got to steal the necessary caps to do it-- once he's in your party, you can steal the caps back from him with 100% success rate and without provoking him. He's going to be invaluable to you in the early-mid game. (If you do have to nick some caps to recruit him, remember to save first. It's kind of cheesy, but save scumming is one of the only ways to survive using the Steal skill at low levels. As a bonus, Ian himself makes for a prime mark, with something like 60 of his 100-cap asking price just sitting there in his pocket waiting for you to come along.)
The other crucial thing you'll be able to acquire here is a rope. Do not forget it before you leave for V15 unless you want to waste valuable days trekking back. There are a couple people you can barter with for one, but if you have no qualms being the sort of adventurer that rolls into town and takes everything that's not bolted down there's one for free in the farm shed on the east side of town, along with a sledgehammer. Be sure to chat with the farmer while you're there-- he's good for some easy exp if your science skill is high enough.
The other crucial thing you'll be able to acquire here is a rope. Do not forget it before you leave for V15 unless you want to waste valuable days trekking back. There are a couple people you can barter with for one, but if you have no qualms being the sort of adventurer that rolls into town and takes everything that's not bolted down there's one for free in the farm shed on the east side of town, along with a sledgehammer. Be sure to chat with the farmer while you're there-- he's good for some easy exp if your science skill is high enough.
As to who you talk to-- literally everyone who's not an unnamed wasteland skag. The number of named NPCs in the game who don't offer vital hints, quest opportunities, merchant services, or useful and enriching background info is, relatively, remarkably low. There are some people you'll definitely regret trying to make small talk with, but that brings me to the next important bit:
You didn't ask, but if I could give you any one piece of general advice, it would be to save often, and in different slots. About to enter a new town? Save. About to talk to someone important-looking? Save. Making a crucial choice? Save. Haven't saved in awhile? Save. Even moreso than most of the RPGs of its day, Fallout could leave you in some especially unforgiving spots depending on your choices, and it helps to not have to reload from too far back. Never save during combat, though-- the game doesn't handle it well at all.
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BigBoss
Your Local Scrub
Alright, in the original's you actually have to PAY ATTENTION, in the first one more so than the second because they give you even less clues about what to do.
Truly you don't NEED to do go anwhere. I mean, you can play as you wish. You can skip Vault 15 and still find the Water Chip. But yeah, you have to pay attention to what people tell you. It's not the kind of game where your path is pretty much highlighted for you. They didn't do this to be dicks, they did this to encourage people to play in their own ways, and to encourage them to explore.
Gizmojunk
Antediluvian as Feck
The very first encounter you should initiate...
Is the one with the game's manual. (No really
)http://www.nma-fallout.com/downloads.php?do=file&id=1385
http://www.nma-fallout.com/downloads.php?do=file&id=65
You can't go wrong with this; especially with the combat mechanics.
*I'd recommend steering clear of wikis and walkthroughs for the first time through the game. They will always be there to go back and read. The best first experiences for this series [IMO] are done spoiler free.
Explore, talk, when in doubt check your known destinations on the map, or return to talk to people some more. The game does open up through conversations and you learn about new places from people ~as well as finding them by striking out blind into the wasteland... But the encounters are not scaled down for a low level PC. You can get attacked by very powerful enemies and environmental threats if you poke around their hang outs or arrive uninformed.
Tips:
The NPC AI has a technical limitation that kept the combat AI for any party members from being able to notice your PC standing between them and their target; don't stand between them and their target if they have a gun.
And be extremely careful around tight corners and cramped rooms if you have an NPC with you. If they step in behind you and block your exit ~there is no way to nicely ask them to move in FO1.
You can steal from your party members in the game; they will never get hostile for that.
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Damn, why are people unable to read. Actually the game tells you everything. It sends you to a certain location and in this location you find hints about where to go next. If you don't find hints in this location, then you most likely stumbled over a different location while walking there. So you obviously go to that place and ask around there. In this location you surely will find someone who can tell you about other new locations, which you should visit as soon as you don't know what else it to do, etc. Fallout 1 is pretty straight forward regarding this.
Reading is a rare virtue these days.