Fallout 3 Impressions Thread - Progress: Complete (Main Quest)

When you first play Fallout your little radar in the bottom left corner is really confusing at first. Although that quest gives you three locations. The areas are also confusing.

Yeah, I was about to ask about the radar, actually. What are those little arrows underneath the line, and what does it mean when they go black? Are those just areas that I'm reaching, or something?

Red bars = enemy in that direction
Green/ yellow/ whatever your UI is = friendly/ neutral in that direction (The distance you can see these is based on your perception)
Yellow arrow = Quest marker
Empty arrow = custom marker

They flash black as you get closer to them (The arrows), as they flash faster the further you are.

Also here's the location of The Family. It's only the map marker, so you still need to hunt around to actually find them, but it should be easier than three locations.

Spoiler

The Metro Station

Thanks. I'll keep looking--I won't look under that spoiler just yet.

And yeah, I understood the rest of the radar just fine--just not the little arrows.

Thanks. I'll keep looking--I won't look under that spoiler just yet.

Fair enough. It's just the map marker, so you'll still need to look around it yourself to find them. Don't want to make it too easy now, do I? I had to play FO3 before I got internet so I feel your pain right now.

All right. I think I've exhausted every possibility I'm willing to put myself through right now <_<
So I'm gonna check Bacon's spoiler. Hopefully I'll waste less time that way.

Edit:
Okay, that's where I most suspected them to be anyway. But what the fuck? I've SCOURED that location...

...The fucking manhole cover. Considering the entire area surrounding it was irradiated as fuck, I thought that was the game's way of telling me NOT to go down there yet.

Not the best game design. Maybe those stupid ghouls could've told me something?... Given me a rad resistance suit?...
I don't know. But that's pretty lame.

Whatever. Just a sidequest, I guess. One that's finally about to end.


...Or not.

I ended up in a faraway place called Meresti Trainyard. Still haven't found the bastards.

Maybe that wasn't where I was supposed to go down after all?... But where else would they be?
Fuck this sidequest.


All right, looks like there was a hidden path down in the metro that I didn't see.

All these traps are pissing me off.

Found 'em. FUCKING hell, that was stupid.

Yeah the metro tunnels are obtuse and one of the reasons I don't like Fallout 3 that much.

They're kind of confusing and unfortunately you kinda have to use them to get around the city well

>tfw i loved the metro

On a positive note, I love Ian's story.

I really had to fight the urge to say "you're a bitch to find" to him, though.

>tfw i loved the metro

I always felt like I was the only person who liked the metro.

>tfw i loved the metro

I always felt like I was the only person who liked the metro.

They're enjoyable if you know how to navigate them

It was cool actually going to DC (my mother took me in 2008 to see Obama get inaugurated. Historical things, blah blah) and just going in the Metro's and thinking the whole time "Hmmm Fallout 3 nailed a lot of this", minus the scaling for some things obviously.

At the time, I was obsessed with Fallout more than I probably should have been. Back in 2008 it was so incredible to me. Being 15 probably helped.

Looking for this place sucked ass--not even gonna beat around the bush. I was given three very broad locations to search for this one person, and was given absolutely no leads whatsoever--and the place it ended up being in was a convoluted mess. I'm glad I was able to find the place by myself (mostly), but it definitely wasn't fun, and even the game itself seems self-aware of that. Lots of characters reference how much of a bitch this place is to find, and I'm just like, "uh, yeah?"

However, if there's one great thing about this sidequest, it's the story itself. They play with your expectations on this one. When I first learned about the Family from Evan King, I assumed it was just gonna be a generic gang of evil fucktards, whom I expected to kill remorselessly as soon as I found them, rescuing Ian effortlessly in the process.

Turns out, they're just a bunch of misunderstood weirdos. The Family didn't kill Ian's parents at all--Ian himself did. He's a cannibal, and the Family is essentially a group of cannibals. Once they found out what Ian did, they captured him, with the intent of molding him into their flock--where his cannibalism won't ever be frowned upon.

Vance, the leader, dislikes the term "cannibal," preferring "vampire" instead. He only allows his flock to consume the blood of their prey, rather than the flesh, and to only consume for nourishment, rather than for pleasure.

This, of course, doesn't justify the Family's behavior--but it puts a little bit more perspective on who they are. Regardless, I had to tell Vance to stop attacking Arefu's livestock, so after speaking with Ian, I politely asked Vance to stop terrorizing Arefu. He gave me his promise.

There were many opportunities for me to insult and disparage him, but I always opted for the more amicable, patient dialogue choice. He responded well to my civility, citing that most other "humans" (because he doesn't consider himself human, I guess) just judge him instantly. Don't get me wrong--I still don't really trust any of these people, but... as long as they're not hurting anything anymore, I don't really see a big problem. I just hope they can get their blood in more intelligent ways.

As for Ian, he's clearly fucked in the head, and feels total remorse for what he did to his parents. He talked about how he always had something building up inside of him all his life, and it just violently burst out. I tried to coax him out of that place, but he wouldn't budge until I showed him Lucy's letter.

This convinced him to leave the Family, and head back to Arefu.

...However, now I'm a little apprehensive about this. If Ian is a cannibal (vampire, whatever)--where the hell is he gonna get his nourishment now?... His... dead parents?... Or maybe the other citizens?...

Is this actually a good idea?...

...And boy. What in the FUCK am I gonna Lucy when I get back...

Hold up, I'm talking to Ian again. Hopefully he'll tell me that he doesn't have the hunger anymore.


Oh... So Lucy should already know about his hunger. She's seen him in the act before.

Hmm...


All right... Umm... Nothing he said was completely reassuring, but I'm sure everything's gonna be all right.

Now I gotta talk to Evan.

I never understood if "Arefu" was supposed to be some play on Nosferatu...considering, you know, vampires.

Blood Ties is finished.

NOW LET'S FINISH THAT SURVIVAL GUIDE


Brailee Ewers.

"Let me give you one of my chocolate-chip cookies!"

>gives me a tin can

Doing the "Those!" quest now.

Damn kid didn't tell me they were fire ants.


Fuck it, I don't think I'm ready for this one yet.

The fire ant workers are fine, but the warriors are a little something different.

I'll work on main quest stuff tomorrow.

Skills

Barter.............42
Big Guns...........25
Energy Weapons.....26
Explosives.........26
Lockpick...........50
Medicine...........32
Melee Weapons......27
Repair.............41
Science............35
Small Guns.........45
Sneak..............25
Speech.............38
Unarmed............19

Perks

Daddy's Boy
Educated
Gun Nut
Lady Killer
Rad Regeneration
Scrounger
Swift Learner
Toughness

Quests

Wasteland Survival Guide

☐ (Optional) Test the repellent on seven more Mole Rats.
☐ Test the repellent on three Mole Rats.
☑ Return to Moira.
☑ (Optional) Bring a landmine to Moira.
☑ Travel to the playground in Minefield.
☑ Return to Moira.
☑ (Optional) Contract more severe radiation sickness (600 rads).
☑ Contract radiation sickness (200 rads).
☑ Return to Moira.
☑ (Optional) Find medicine in the Super-Duper Mart.
☑ Find food in the Super-Duper Mart.

Those!

☐ Find Bryan Wilks's father.

Galaxy News Radio (ACTIVE)

☐ Find the Museum of Technology

Big Trouble in Big Town

☐ Rescue the Big Town captives from the Super Mutants.
☑ Ask the people of Big Town about their captured friends.

Aiding the Outcasts

☐ Investigate the Outcast Radio Signal

Not of This World

☐ Investigate the strange radio frequency coming from the Wasteland.

Into The Pitt

☐ Find the source of the radio transmissions.

The Local Flavor

☐ Investigate the riverboat.

I let Ian stay with the family since he's more accepted around them. Him going by himself would just repeat it.

I let Ian stay with the family since he's more accepted around them. Him going by himself would just repeat it.

Have you done everything there is to be done in this game?

I let Ian stay with the family since he's more accepted around them. Him going by himself would just repeat it.

Have you done everything there is to be done in this game?

I have!

The only stuff I haven't done is the DLC really, but since the game's incompatible with Windows 10 I guess I won't be playing it >.>

pitt best dlc

I never understood if "Arefu" was supposed to be some play on Nosferatu...considering, you know, vampires.

Wasn't it just because there's a Careful sign out the front with letters missing, so it says arefu

Thought I'd take a moment to talk about my loadout/arsenal/what I typically have equipped in the wasteland:

10mm pistol

I don't really like this thing--never did. It's clunky and boring and kinda weak. But Aria told me that I could take it all the way to the end of the game and use it effectively, so it hasn't ever left my inventory for that very reason. It's nice that 10mm rounds seem to be cheap and easy to find.

Chinese assault rifle

Originally I had a regular assault rifle, until I noticed that the Chinese one I've been keeping in my locker for awhile actually does more damage, even factoring in its condition. I have no idea why. It's a decent weapon, I suppose--but I try not to use it very often, because it burns through ammunition fast. Being an automatic weapon and all.

Combat shotgun

I love shotguns, but I don't really love this thing. I probably use it too much, because I'm always looking for shells. The damage it deals almost seems to be random--sometimes it'll take out a huge chunk of life, and other times it'll barely do anything. And yes, I always fire it point-blank. It also takes forever to reload it. I have a sawed-off back at home, which is infinitely cooler, but it does less damage and reloads after only two shots.

Laser pistol

This thing sucks, but it probably has to do with the fact that I have a low energy weapon skill. It's not even that fun to use, though. Honestly, I kinda miss Halo's method of energy weapons--instead of having to reload the weapon, it would just overheat if you fired it too much. I guess they can't just outright take that idea, but like I said, I kinda miss it.

Combat knife

My go-to weapon if I'm dealing with weak little ankle-biters and I just wanna conserve ammo. Bad damage, but it's fun to use.

Frag mine

I loooove these things. If you're ever dealing with mindless "see player, walk towards him" type AI, like with mirelurks and fire ants (and basically every other enemy in the game), laying down some mines is, dare I say it, a blast. Disarming them is fun, too. Makes me feel like a secret agent.

Frag grenade

Ehhh. They have their uses, I suppose. I can't save I've used them very often. The throw arc is kinda hard for me to get used to, because in the last game I played, Master Chief was capable of rifling those sons of bitches across the horizon, and in this game, you can't really seem to throw 'em terribly far at all. I like how they're capable of one-shotting fire ant workers, though.

Hunting rifle

So far, this is my favorite weapon. It sucks for taking out raiders and super mutants, but it's amazing for taking out large mutated animals, like bloatflies and mole rats. Little nuisances that are all over the wasteland.


I also have a missile launcher, a flamer, and a minigun locked up at my house--among other things--but I haven't used any of that shit yet. Except the missile launcher, but only once, to help take out a super mutant behemoth.

So yeah, not terribly into the weapons in this game. Hopefully I'll come across better ones.

I never understood if "Arefu" was supposed to be some play on Nosferatu...considering, you know, vampires.

Wasn't it just because there's a Careful sign out the front with letters missing, so it says arefu

oh lol

that makes a lot more sense

It's like Novac

I let Ian stay with the family since he's more accepted around them. Him going by himself would just repeat it.

Have you done everything there is to be done in this game?

I have. The way I ended it was retiring to my home in Megaton, getting on it, and then saving.

It was basically my way of saying the Lone Wanderer has "earned a rest".

I let Ian stay with the family since he's more accepted around them. Him going by himself would just repeat it.

Have you done everything there is to be done in this game?

I have. The way I ended it was retiring to my home in Megaton, getting on it, and then saving.

It was basically my way of saying the Lone Wanderer has "earned a rest".

that's how i'd like to end it, too

I let Ian stay with the family since he's more accepted around them. Him going by himself would just repeat it.

Have you done everything there is to be done in this game?

I have. The way I ended it was retiring to my home in Megaton, getting on it, and then saving.

It was basically my way of saying the Lone Wanderer has "earned a rest".

that's how i'd like to end it, too

Just go to Old Olney for one final great battle with your weakest armor and strongest melee weapon.

I let Ian stay with the family since he's more accepted around them. Him going by himself would just repeat it.

Have you done everything there is to be done in this game?

I have. The way I ended it was retiring to my home in Megaton, getting on it, and then saving.

It was basically my way of saying the Lone Wanderer has "earned a rest".

that's how i'd like to end it, too

Just go to Old Olney for one final great battle with your weakest armor and strongest melee weapon.

You're so OP by level 15 in that game anyway, so you'd somehow probably still win.