Fallout 3 Impressions

[Daehawk]

Ok this is the second time Ive tried to post this. First time it said all my pics were too large and I accidentally hit close instead of post after redoing it SIGH

I picked both the game and book up at Gamestop today. Sucker was HEAVY. Surprisingly I also had paid too much and got some money back..win!

Ok this first part is the book. Its the hardback CE version. This sucker is BIG. Bigger than I thought it would be. The front and back both have water stains on them. when I first looked at the book I was all ohhh crap! until I saw it was made that way. It came with a HUGE map of the wasteland inside which I didn't take pics of because it was so big. Also it had a coversheet on the back with some info and pics which I didn't include here either.The pages are NOT glossy but then again at nearly 500 pages who could afford that? They are made of a very nice thick newspaper type paper though. I think it will stand up well.

Also Im sorry for the pic quality..I suck as a photographer. BTW the back is great aint it? Dead little FO boy. or maybe he is just drunk

Front

Back


Ok the game. Of course you know it comes in a metal lunchbox. Its actually smaller than I thought it would be. Its not the size of a kids lunchbox..or Ive forgotten their size. The DVD case fits snugly into it so you can judge the size from that alone.The outside is covered in Fallout graphics. Its a VERY nice box. Inside you will find the game in a DVD case, a behind the scenes DVD in a movie real type sleeve and the same screenprinting on the dvd, a hard cover instruction manual, and a Fallout Boy (not the band) bobble head.

I have not opened the dvd case to the game yet. The making of dvd looks pretty cool too. The hard back manual caught me by surprise. Damn thats a fine ass manual there . Also the bobble head looks and works really well I love that thing. The wife liked it so much she threatened to take it away from me . But the manual is a real treat by itself.

Everything...box...book...game..all come in plastic shrink wrap. Nothing was damaged.

Again I apologise for the crappy pic quality

These first 2 pics are of the sturdy plastic outter cover that came on the metal lunchbox. Its clear with print on it so hard to get a good pic anyways.

Front

Back


Box front


Box back


Inside goodies


Close-up of the little guy

[Orgull]

Only played a bit, but so far, despite being patently different from the first two games, it FEELS like Fallout. I'm impressed so far.

[Daehawk]

The first Stalker felt like a Fallout game to me. Looking forward to this one. I have it but I really need to finish up the last couple exp bubbles to lvl 20 on my Warhammer Disciple. Then I lvl my orc...orcorcorcorc

[gameoverman]

Nice pics Daehawk, that stuff looks cool, one of the nicer CE of a game I can remember seeing. I like the lunchbox, imagine being a kid again and going to school one day with a sandwich in that, just for kicks. Dammit, kids today don't know how good they have it.

[Hamlet3145]

Steam download tip from their Fallout 3 forum:

Exit Steam then delete (or just rename if you are nervous) the file clientregistry.blob from the Steam root folder. Apparently it resets some cache and that speeds things up.

I swear to Baby Jesus that doing this shot my DL speed up from 60k to 350k - 450k.

[farley2k]

Also Im sorry for the pic quality..I suck as a photographer.

Yes you do. But thanks for the pics anyway

[snoleopard]

Spoiler:

Don't want to spoil anyones fun, but after you're told to get out of your room, and you've searched it, at a junction if you watch the radroaches attack the Officer, you'll be able to get some armor off of him.

I got the CE PC game today, and only got to play for a bit, had to go pick up my new reading glasses. I'm loving it so far. Sorry if anyone got upset over the spoiler, just wanted to share. I only discovered it by accident, but was pleasantly surpised. BTW, when you take pictures of the game box and things, how the heck to you get them into your message?

[ChuckB]

My PS3 CE, ordered through Amazon with "Release-Date Delivery", seems to sit in the UPS facility 5 miles from my home since 8am (Arrival Scan), it is now 2:30pm - no "out for delivery" or the like. If they don't deliver today, I have to find a way to break into the facility tonight ...

[Daehawk]

I got the CE PC game today, and only got to play for a bit, had to go pick up my new reading glasses. I'm loving it so far. Sorry if anyone got upset over the spoiler, just wanted to share. I only discovered it by accident, but was pleasantly surpised. BTW, when you take pictures of the game box and things, how the heck to you get them into your message?

I use FlashFXP to upload them to my ISP's storage I get with my account. Then I just add a url link to them that points to my personal ftp area on my ISP.

[RunningMn9]

I take it back. Steam for a game on release day is puppies.

68% of the way to glory!!

[coopasonic]

My PS3 CE, ordered through Amazon with "Release-Date Delivery", seems to sit in the UPS facility 5 miles from my home since 8am (Arrival Scan), it is now 2:30pm - no "out for delivery" or the like. If they don't deliver today, I have to find a way to break into the facility tonight ...

In the event of a missed delivery, we will refund the shipping charge. Note: this does not apply if delivery is attempted, but no one is available to accept the package.

Mine showed up while I was at lunch.

[coopasonic]

I take it back. Steam for a game on release day is puppies.

68% of the way to glory!!

When there is no pre-load, yes it is. When there is a pre-load, it's just spiffy. Does anything other than Valve games get a pre-load?

[ChuckB]

My PS3 CE, ordered through Amazon with "Release-Date Delivery", seems to sit in the UPS facility 5 miles from my home since 8am (Arrival Scan), it is now 2:30pm - no "out for delivery" or the like. If they don't deliver today, I have to find a way to break into the facility tonight ...

In the event of a missed delivery, we will refund the shipping charge. Note: this does not apply if delivery is attempted, but no one is available to accept the package.

Mine showed up while I was at lunch.

Interestingly, I went to the UPS site directly and entered the tracking code (instead of using the Amazon "Track your package" button) and the 8am entry is not "Arrival Scan", but "Out for Delivery" - Great!

Now, brown only has to find my house ...

[Hamlet3145]

Does anything other than Valve games get a pre-load?

Bioshock did. But it was only like a 66% pre-load. Better than nothing though.

[Chaz]

Dae, I hate to break it to you, but for the sake of anyone reading, I don't want to get their hopes up. The hardcover book it comes with isn't the manual, it's an art book. This is okay by me, because it's a really nice art book, but the manual is a typical DVD-sized affair with paper covers. It redeems itself by being thick by today's standards, with next to no non-game info in there.

[pad152]

Tom Chick's review is up at crispygame, he seems to like it. Now I'm just waiting to hear how it runs on older systems!

http://www.crispygamer.com/gamereviews/ ... -3-pc.aspx" target="_blank

[ChrisGrenard]

Okay, first off, I couldn't ever get more than an hour into Oblivion without being bored. Just couldn't do it. Combine that with the middling performance I got and you have a recipe for me being *really* on the fence with Fallout 3.

That said, I'm about an hour into it now and so far I give it a very solid A. It's not perfect or anything, but it seems very neat so far. A great deal of the Fallout-ness is still here, even if everybody in the world does seem quite a bit less insane than in the Fallout games.

Now, one problem: My left-right audio is reversed in the game and I can't find any option to fix it. Anybody have any ideas?

[Chaz]

Turn around?

[ChrisGrenard]

Turn around?

Hah, I wish. Instead, I keep turning the wrong direction every time I hear something to the side of me.

Also, I do have one early complaint: The interface is VERY console-y. Like the dialog selection box can only hold 3 responses at a time, even when running at 1680x1050. It means you have to scroll and scroll and scroll to get to all the dialog choices. I hope some modder fixes this one asap.

[Lordnine]

Some very brief impressions. Life inside the vault seemed kind of a letdown at first, everything was just a little too generic feeling but once I made it outside I couldn’t deny that this was Fallout. I love the little touches like the radio stations. I know someone else asked somewhere if going indoors loads a different area or not. Sadly it does but the load times(at least on my PC) are nearly instantaneous.

I seem to have a problem though. I can’t figure out how to get VATS to work. I press V and it comes up letting me target things and when I accept everything goes into slow motion but my character wont attack. Whatever enemy I’m fighting doesn’t seem to have this problem. Am I not doing something right?

[IceBear]

Some very brief impressions. Life inside the vault seemed kind of a letdown at first, everything was just a little too generic feeling but once I made it outside I couldn’t deny that this was Fallout. I love the little touches like the radio stations. I know someone else asked somewhere if going indoors loads a different area or not. Sadly it does but the load times(at least on my PC) are nearly instantaneous.

I seem to have a problem though. I can’t figure out how to get VATS to work. I press V and it comes up letting me target things and when I accept everything goes into slow motion but my character wont attack. Whatever enemy I’m fighting doesn’t seem to have this problem. Am I not doing something right?

Well, that's how it's suppose to work. You aren't using it without a weapon equiped or with a melee weapon when the target is at range?

[Daehawk]

Dae, I hate to break it to you, but for the sake of anyone reading, I don't want to get their hopes up. The hardcover book it comes with isn't the manual, it's an art book. This is okay by me, because it's a really nice art book, but the manual is a typical DVD-sized affair with paper covers. It redeems itself by being thick by today's standards, with next to no non-game info in there.

Yes you are right. I got the art book and guide book with art work mixed up in my head and was thinking it was the manual.

[Grifman]

Damn, I really miss the Gifted trait! I always took that and I'm so used to it, it's hard to figure out where to allocate points to. I'm thinking for a smooth talking scientist sniper:

Strength 4 Not gonna be a bruiser, hurts a little on weight that can be carried
Perception 6 Needed for energy weapons, lockpicking
Endurance 4 I'm going to try and stay at range, away from enemies
Charisma 6 Need to impress people with my speech
Intelligence 8 I want more skill points (and it helps with repair, science and medicine)
Agility 7 Needed for VATS action, small guns, sneak
Luck 5 Keep average here

What's everyone else doing?

[RunningMn9]

What's everyone else doing?

Staring at my download progress in Steam.

[Grifman]

What's everyone else doing?

Staring at my download progress in Steam.

So says the hunter-gatherer

[Lee]

What's everyone else doing?

Staring at my download progress in Steam.

You could me, I am waiting for UPS to call and tell me what time I can come pick up my copy.

[Lordnine]

Well, that's how it's suppose to work. You aren't using it without a weapon equiped or with a melee weapon when the target is at range?

I have the pistol equipped and my character just stands there while he gets clubbed in slow motion.

[tgb]

[quote="Grifman"]Damn, I really miss the Gifted trait! I always took that and I'm so used to it, it's hard to figure out where to allocate points to. I'm thinking for a smooth talking scientist sniper:

Strength 4 Not gonna be a bruiser, hurts a little on weight that can be carried
Perception 6 Needed for energy weapons, lockpicking
Endurance 4 I'm going to try and stay at range, away from enemies
Charisma 6 Need to impress people with my speech
Intelligence 8 I want more skill points (and it helps with repair, science and medicine)
Agility 7 Needed for VATS action, small guns, sneak
Luck 5 Keep average here

What's everyone else doing?[/quote

As I posted earlier, I'm playing the classic 50's scientist/hero (I've even taken the name Clayton Forrester). Anyway:

St: 6
Pe: 2
End: 5
Char: 7
Int: 8
Agil:7
Lck:5

Does anyone else find it a bit disconcerting that the spoken dialogue doesn't always match the on-screen text?

Also, how do you set video resolution? The auto-checker at start looks good, but I wouldn't mind tweaking it a bit.

And di anyone else think of dbt during the tutorial?

[ChrisGrenard]

More impressions:

Load times are A+. Like Half-Life 1 levels. It's quite impressive. There are lots, for sure, but I'm very happy with their speed.

Bugs: URK. Went into VATS once and the game didn't bring up the targetting thing, just sat there. Wouldn't let me hit Right Mouse to exit, wouldn't allow me to target, nothing. Had to quickload to get out. Then, after quickloading, I killed the same dog that caused the glitch by just aiming and shooting. At which point the game hard crashed.

Also, characters do not go through doors well, if the door is a load zone. They just disappear from one side, and reappear inside the building. This is particularly notable if you tell the sheriff about the guy who is trying to detonate a bomb.

[Lordnine]

Well, that's how it's suppose to work. You aren't using it without a weapon equiped or with a melee weapon when the target is at range?

I have the pistol equipped and my character just stands there while he gets clubbed in slow motion.

Well after hunting around on the official forums I found my own answer. Apparently it’s a bug. If you have your mouse buttons reversed Vats simply won’t fire. I switched my mouse and reloaded and it works fine. Now if only I wasn’t miss clicking everything on my computer…

[RMC]

I take it back. Steam for a game on release day is puppies.

68% of the way to glory!!

Man great for you. I keep getting kicked off becasue the steam servers are to busy for my request. I have been D/L since 1pm EST... 7 + hours with 3+ to go. No way will I ever use Steam again for Release day games.

[RunningMn9]

I've got it! Steam rules!

[Montag]

It crashes on Vista 64 home premium when I try to start a new game.

It runs fine on my XP machine.

The crashing pisses me off because I could play it in max detail. I have to run on medium with my XP machine.

[ChrisGrenard]

Ok, this is infuriating. I can't make it past these two dogs. They are causing constant crashes every time I try, and not even rebooting helps.

Looks like my day 1 purchase is basically a wash until a patch gets released. (Insert rage face here)

[ChrisGrenard]

Tried again, snuck around the dogs this time.

I hate to say, but the VATS system is pretty much totally broken on my system. There are certain targets that, when targetted with the VATS system pertty much cause the game to go to a slideshow and won't actually target anything and won't exit and you have to quickload. As it turns out, the bandits in the supermart are another of these.

GRRAAGGHHHHH!!!!!

[Dave Allen]

After reading the (23) help screens in the pipboy, I think they have fine-tuned sneaking and made it real fun. I'm going to try my first run through as a thief -guaranteed critical hit when hidden - stolen items are not marked as such and can be sold anywhere, so I'm focusing on barter skills, lockpicking, and sneaking.

I wonder where karma fits in. After stealing a few items, its says my karma has gone down. I'm not sure how this will effect my character - karma's not a character stat. I'm accumulating negative karma quickly, and my character has a 1 for luck. (OR because my character has a 1 for luck )

[Doomboy]

Well, my impression is that it is exactly what I hoped it would be. It is so cool to see the wasteland through a first person perspective. The wasteland is chaotic and tragic, as it should be. There was a brief minute or two of confusion on leaving the vault about which direction I should head in, but I felt that way with the other Fallout games too.

I really like VATS so far. I try to avoid "wasting" my shots without it. I like the animations and seeing the shots hit. I doubt I will get tired of seeing that stuff. I do wish I could map it to the mouse instead of having to hunt for a key when I see a bad guy coming.

The RPG aspects seem much tighter than Oblivion and Morrowind were. I feel like the skills I picked have more of an impact on the game than just how much damage I do, and how much stuff I can carry. It took me a while to figure out how to put away weapons. Once I did, I felt like less of a wasteland newb, always nervously pointing guns at everyone while chatting.

I only have one perk so far, and I chose the fast learner, as I always do as soon as I first get the choice. No reason not to pick the perk that gives you more skill points. I looked over the list, and I see some of my other favorites have returned and will get chosen later.

The one thing I am not happy with, is that my forearms are too huge to wear my pipboy. But it looks good sitting in its stand, so I guess I can live without wearing it while playing.

Looking forward to getting the guidebook in a few days to see what choices I could have made differently earlier. I almost want to start over and see what happens if I don't leave the vault... Maybe next time.

[Sarkus]

Tried again, snuck around the dogs this time.

I hate to say, but the VATS system is pretty much totally broken on my system. There are certain targets that, when targetted with the VATS system pertty much cause the game to go to a slideshow and won't actually target anything and won't exit and you have to quickload. As it turns out, the bandits in the supermart are another of these.

GRRAAGGHHHHH!!!!!

Man, that sucks Chris. I don't know what to say other than I just went through there and had no problems, so whatever the issue is it isn't universal. I've had one lock-up incident so far, and I'm pretty sure that was because some unrelated program decided to autorun in the background on my computer.

File a report with their tech support and see what happens. Make sure all drivers are up to date etc. I know that doesn't make you feel any better, but if it helps it took me two weeks and an eventual HDD reformat to get HL2 to run when it came out, so I've been there before.

[Dave Allen]

It took me a while to figure out how to put away weapons.

Please share.

I only have one perk so far, and I chose the fast learner,

Me, too.

[Doomboy]

It took me a while to figure out how to put away weapons.

Please share.

Dang, knew I was forgetting something. Hold R (or whatever your reload is set to) the same way you hold TAB to turn on and off your light.