7thsealord

Business is business.

Pretty much what I do when first starting out in the Wastes. Except for Stimpacks - I never EVER sell them, just get more and more whenever possible. One thing that works extremely well for me is to have a good Repair skill. That way, I can do repair / merges of weapons and armour. Instead of 2-3 crappy-quality Hunting Rifles (or sets of Blastmaster Armour), I can then have one GOOD-quality whatever. In monetary terms, you lose a bit off the total resale value by doing this, but it makes for being able to carry a heckuva lot more loot withut throwing anything away.

.... Because forced relocation has always worked so incredibly well, historically speaking. There will undoubtedly be a number of settlements that do NOT want to be shifted and (like me) see no logical reason why they should be. Furthermore, this assumes that Rivet City is capable of supporting all those extra people, can find gainful employment for all of them pdq, and actually wants to go this path. And it is always so easy to find and recruit GREAT engineers in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. More common than Mole Rats, actually - they turn up in every second random encounter. And, while the Vaults COULD be very useful in the re-building process, readying them for another nuclear war is just plain .... WTH???? Nuclear war with whom? If invoking 'just in case', then why not ALSO make preparations against tsunamis, volcanoes, dinosaur stampedes or invading armies from Mordor? Better off using the resources that this would require for silly stuff like basic day-to-day survival and the whole 're-build civilization' thing. And if the BOS could easily or even conceivably build more Liberty Primes, would they? Consider ..... 1. Getting the first one running was plainly a 'dig up, apply duct tape, jump start and pray' sort of thing, so the BOS seems a long way from being able to build more. 2. Given that the BOS does not have unlimited resources (and is unlikely to achieve this status anytime soon), just what would they have to NOT build (or otherwise do without) in order to build more Liberty Primes? 3. Liberty Primes are handy for fighting large high-tech enemies like the Enclave (not a frequent thing), but ridiculous overkill against anything less. They could toast any possible or even imaginable Raider gang, but that is like using a jackhammer to crack an egg - sure, it might work but it is an inefficient use of a jackhammer and there is very little left of the egg afterwards. 4. A handful of Liberty Primes could dominate the DC Wastes, but there are only so many places each can be at one time, there are a bunch of places (like inside buildings or the DC subway) that they simply cannot go in the first place, and they are worse than useless at anything requiring stealth and/or interaction with other people. More dudes with decent training and good-quality equipment, with Verti-Birds for support, would seem like a much more effective use of resources.

Extremely interesting. Thanks for showing this to us. Like others, I don't care for the colour but really do like the map and radio interfaces.

It provides a lot of INTERESTING junk in interesting places. If decorating your house, setting up some kind of museum or simply collecting stuff is at all likely to be a thing for you; then this is a great mod to have. Broad selection of Nuka-Cola merchandise, some Vault-Tec stuff, various toys / models (robots, vehicles), musical instruments, furnishing-type stuff (lamps, vases, cushions, pictures) and a lot more besides. May not be a "Must Have" mod, but DC Collectables definitely tops my personal list for optional extras.

Nope, just a cliche.

I absolutely recommend both DC Interiors (for all those otherwise closed-off houses that become accessible and explorable) and Busworld (ditto for all buses and railway carriages). Together, they add a vast amount of additional space to explore. I put these at the top of my list of 'Must Haves'. Sorry, Dual Pistol Usage is something that has been asked about so often that the Mod Suggestions Thread has essentially said that they are sick of hearing it. Supposedly, the game engine isn't up to that trick - and certainly nobody has produced a playable mod that has managed to do it yet.

And again, Doubly sorry.

Oops. Duplicate post, Sorry.

There is a mod that creates a shower on the outside of your Megaton House. It even gives you a short-term bonus on trading via being clean'n'presentable. But I think it does give you a few rads in the process. There are also a few mods for Player Homes with (non-irradiating) swimming pools. I think there are mods that fiddle around with the water rad levels, but couldn't name them.

In general, sounds like you went in way too soon. Better weapons, better armour and some very well-armed (Essential) friends would all help. A very nice thing about a lot of FO3's quests are that they are not time-critical - so you can back off, go level up some more, get better equipment, then come back without any problems. IMO, the best possible way to deal with Fire Ants is at long range, because they are NASTY at close quarters - especially in groups. BTW, You will find this site VERY helpful for the standard game: http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Portal:Fallout_3

Well, if your game is running satisfactorily and two crashes are all you have taken so far, you are doing extremely well, IMO. Maybe you could go into a little more detail as to what you are doing, because it is clearly working and I think a lot of us here would be interested.

The Moderators REALLY don't like people bumping threads. Be warned. Given that, whatever else happens, Paradise Falls remains a stopover for the regular caravans, keeping Pronto alive has never been a concern for me. There is also a mod that, after you wipe out PF, repopulates it with ex-slaves and so forth. Not sure if a merchant type is included, but it may be worth a look.

Well, the Wiki does specifically say that the attacks cease after the LW teaches the inhabitants to defend themselves, which is the option I've always gone for. No mention of what happens otherwise. Note that the battle is pretty much the same as if you were fighting the Supermutants by yourself, except some Big Town NPCs might get killed. They are brave, but stick within Big Town and don't really achieve a lot in combat. It is also mentioned that Fast-Travelling directly there can cause enemies to spawn in the middle of the place upon arrival. Seen this happen myself at least once, so keep that in mind as well. After dealing with Big Town's immediate problems, I usually make a personal project out of upgrading the defenses. Use reverse-pickpocketing or the Groovatron to re-equip the people with better armour and weapons - usually fixed-up stuff originally looted from Raiders, Talon Company and/or the Enclave. Give a good-quality Flamer to the Gate Guy, and a DECENT gun to Kimba (she's using a BB gun, fer crissake!). Park some Eyebots on sentry mode around the place. That sort of thing. Does me good to see these people wandering around their town in Power Armor, it really does.:) Special warning. Do NOT do any re-equipping (via Reverse-pickpocket or Groovatron) of the Big Towners until AFTER the rescue-and-defend quest has been fully completed (arming up the two you rescue is fine, but nobody else). Doing otherwise seems to do something to settings, so that offering to teach the Big Towners how to defend themselves does NOT appear as a dialogue option. The only choices you get is to either walk away or fight the bad guys single-handed. Just so you know.

Opinions will vary, naturally. My own yardstick is to wait until after I get 'Light Step' - there is a minefield (plus boobytraps) to get through WITHOUT any Stimpacks. I also recommend other Perks to boost H-To-H, Melee, ability to take damage and resistance to radiation. All of which you will need, trust me on this. The basics will also be needed (shooting, hacking, sneaking, etc.), but the above are what come most to mind.

Quite a few places respawn. I can think of several on the Megaton to Rivet City route. Just as well the bodies eventually disappear, otherwise those spots would be overflowing with Supermutant or Raider bits in pretty short order.

Two hundred years since The War. Lots of things have happened. There was The War itself and the immediate aftermath. Survivors move stuff around or destroy whatever might be left. Floods and landslides alter the already messed-up landscape (noting that PF is in a definite valley, surrounded by a lot of steep hills and cliffs), and so on. For instance, if I was the slaver warlord setting up PF as a properly fortified locale, I would definitely clear away any and all structures outside my walls. Use the bits from that work to build up my own fortifications even more - and also deny all semblance of resources, shelter and cover to any outsiders. Basically, the results would be pretty close to what we see here.

All of the groups and communities have their own priorities. IMO, it is CERTAIN that anyone becoming a fully-fledged member/resident would be expected to take on those things over and above any personal considerations. No matter how awesome the person might be otherwise. Join Talon Company, you do Talon Company work - when they want and where they want. Join the Slavers, you better do what Eulogy Jones says or something nasty will probably happen. Join The Family, and you better memorize those Five Laws dang fast. You work really hard in your chosen path, and you might eventually get to a point where you start giving some of the orders, but the organization will still require a certain amount of your loyalty and attention. Slack off or start going rogue and, in all likelihood, the organization will quickly replace you in an especially unfriendly and probably messy way. Just like real life, when you think about it. ;) The Lone Wanderer has a number of things to do that are not necesarily 100% compatible with any single group. He or she is a free agent, who can build up or change relationships with these groups as seems appropriate. "Join" any single group and you will have to do what they want - whether this is long long bouts of guard duty at the gate when you really want to go blow up supermutants downtown, or whatever.

Given the rumours, Boston is fine by me, especially given the tie-in with FO3. Wondering if 'Android' might be an option for starting Characters. Hmmm, given the relative positions, wonder if there may be also a tie-in or two with The Pitt? Hopefully lots of oppurtunity for exploration (NOT miles and miles and miles of nothing, mind you - that isn't exploring, just unused space). Having a (former) city as the centre of the action is essential, IMO.

For a hardcore game, arguably yes. But if this were really the case, we would be fighting Mirelurks and Deathclaws and Supermutants with Nailboards and Big Rocks. That might appeal to some, but not to me. On the other hand, most of these places would not have remained unoccupied and unused ever since The War. Undoubtedly, in the couple of centuries since, any number of groups (ex-military, survivors, Raiders, etc.) have passed through a given area, stashed their supplies, hung out for a while then either moved on or been wiped out by someone else. Stuff either accumulates or moves around - often a bit of both.

I definitely second 'DC Interiors'. A lot also depends on your priorities and preferences. There are a number of threads here that deal with specific kinds of mods, such as the best Player homes, and so on.

Get a new friend, for a start. You only had one save?

Sometimes, the game just kind of .... hiccups. Chunks of landscape disappear, NPCs go walkabout and/or turn up in the dernedest places, and so on. Restart the game or go back later, and it's like it was all just a dream ..... ;)

Totally. That's one thing I've gotten a lot of practice at.

OK, reasonably certain I've now done the above fix as per instructions (after undoing previous changes). However, now when I try to approach the Jefferson Memorial, the picture keeps breaking down into a jagged-edged mess (HUD and sound both remain normal). This mess varies depending on which direction I face and, in some directions, the picture might even seem clear. Hadn't happened before. At this stage, I'll probably return to original settings - at least until I can get a clue what I'm doing wrong.