Off to Minetown

I sure hope that i will be able to oncrease the time i get to play Fallout 3. Definetely more than once every six months. 8P

In any event, I picked up my storyline in the open air part, on the backside, of the Sunyvale School.  I went ahead and explored the school fairly thoroughly, to include the depths of the basement.  There is a small cave down there that is infested with Ants, but a few nuggets to find.  Oveall i am frustrated with skill books as they only increase the chosen skill by 2 points, however, since there are so many out there to find it encourages the player to be careful in their searching.

Technically i was on the Quest to retrieve a mine for Moira, but i knew i had not cleared out the raiders closest to my old home.  Being level 9 by this point it was fairly easy.  The hardest time i had was clearing out the ants in the basement.  Which is ironic since i completed the Those! quest.  Which reminds me... i still need to find the little guy's Aunt.  Maybe after getting back to Moria with the landmine.

Once i cleaned out the school i headed back north for the landmine with a quick stop back in Megaton to rest, and sell off the extra equipment.  After that i made pretty much a Bee line straight towards my objective.  This is not my normal MO.  I like to look around and check things out some, but this time i didn't have any spare time, and i was acting like i was never going to get another chance.

I made it to the outskirts of town when a sniper started picking off the wrecked cars.  This things, along with the few mines i had trouble disarming were 'killin' me.  So, i doned the stealth suit and took my sweat time.  This worked really well because eventually i made it where the sniper was.

It was really nice to get another sniper rifle in order to repair mine.  The ammunition was really nice as well.
Finally i made it back to the playground in the middle of the town, as well as procured a mine to take back.

Again since i was not taking a lot of time, i began my return trip to Megaton.  While on my way back i accidentally discovered the scrapyard.  I knew Dog Meat was to be found here so i took my time and wandered around until i found him.  It was a pretty simple speech interaction.  Once i befriended him, i sent him to Vault 101 because i didn't want to lose my friend.  This may have been a mistake.  One that i told my son that if it is... i may just start the game over... AGAIN.

On my way back to Megaton i stopped by Vault 101 to see if Dog Meat was there... no dice.  Now i'm getting nervous.  But, i didn't wait around.  After circling the Vault entrence one time i headed back home.

With the Mrs. being out of town this week i am hoping to get a few extra hours in this weekend too.

Fire Ants are nasty

I cannot honestly not remember when i booted up the laptop and played me some Fallout 3. When i finally did yesterday i couldn't remember where i had left off, but it all came back to me when i found myself standing outside a "personal bomb shelter" in the small town of Grayditch.
I immediately remembered that i had agreed to help Moira with her Wastelands Survival Guide back in Megaton. While i have already finished Operation: Anchorage, i have explored precious little else. Well, while en-route to the Super Duper Mart i was "recruited" to help out a young lad who was saying that giant ants were terrorizing his town. I could not allow the lad to suffer so i set about exploring the town. My previous adventures - that i seem to have not blogged about - had revealed that Bryan Wilkes' father was indeed dead, and that a local scientist had been performing some kind of experiments on the local giant ant population that had the undesired affects of giving them some kind of fire breath. My investigations led me to the Marigold Metro Station. It took some time, but eventually i was surprised by Dr. Lesko, and i very nearly shot him.

After talking with him for a little while he told me all about his experiments, and i helped him rid the Queen's nest of Fire Ant Guards. He then gave me a choice of taking a serum that gives either Ant Sight, or Ant Might (+1 Perception, or + 1 Strength) and 25% damage resistance to fire from now on. Since i seem to like to sneak around and snipe at enemies i took the Ant Sight.

When i went back to talk to Bryan i also decided to help him find another place to live. He apparently has an Aunt in Rivet City, a location that i have thus far not found. When i find out where it is i will head there to see what i can do to find his Aunt Vera. Once done (for now) there, i headed back to the Super Duper Mart.It was not a hard place to find over all. As i approached i spotted a guard patrolling the parking lot outside. My long range sniping skills are still not all that great and he rushed me. In this case though, it worked out because i kept nailing an abandoned car. Just as the guy was clearing it it exploded, killing my attacker.I proceeded into the store to search for food and medical supplies, but then my 'free" time came to and end for the day.

(... to be continued)

Responding Defender Morill's emergency message

After i left the Red Racer Factory i continued on my way towards the radio distress call coming from "Defender Morill" at the Bailey's Crossroads Metro Station. It was a fairly uneventful crossing from there. A few Raiders roaming about, but i managed to meet up with "Defender Morill".
As you can see from the picture i didn't receive the friendliest of greetings, but once i explained why i was there i was prompted to follow him and some of his fellow Outcasts on a sprint through some pretty intense rubble and street fighting. Being a mere level 3, and there being a lot of Super Mutants running around i did the best i could. I stuck to the rear and sniped.

Once we arrived at the Outcasts base of operations i discovered that they needed my Pip Boy on my arm to interface with some sort of simulation. Assuming i survived the virtual reality sim, it would unlock something or other. It was a rather simple affair to agree to their little simulation. Especially since i had come to find them on purpose.
It was interesting with this restart to head somewhere completely different than my previous attempts. I was a little put off by the Outcasts attitude, but then this is only a game. There are times when i am tempted to say, "Forget you" and leave them to their own devices... but then i would not get the chance to experience the very thing i came to explore.

As i settled into the VR Pod and the little lights began to swirl it was a lot like when i first stepped out of Vault 101. As my vision cleared i found myself perched atop a snow covered mountain, face to face with a soldier who seemed to be my friend.
From here i had to fight my way to my own command post.

More to follow... but i am afraid that there has been a lot of time go by since i played this part... my memory is fading... lol

Starting over

Ok, ok, ok... i hate to admit it... once i found out that i could never go back and disarm the bomb and win the everlasting gratitude of the denizens of Megaton and get my very own house... i started over.

This time, as soon as i emerged from Vault 101 i responded to the call for help from the Outcasts at the Bailey's Crossroads Metro Station. I figured why not.
On the way i stopped at the Red Racer Factory. I was low on ammunition for the hunting rifle i had picked up and i could use more stimpaks to heal up. Who knows, maybe i'd get lucky and find a bed to crash in (yea right).

I explored this place from ground to the offices at the top. Being so low level this was no small feat. The place was infested with Super Mutants, but i found if i was cautious and deliberate in my movements i could limit the number of monsters charging towards me. Then with a few well place shots, especially if i could snipe at them from surprise and cover, i could dispatch these behemoths without endangering myself too much.

On the ground floor i managed to obtain a huge stuffed teddy bear (i thought why not? It might actually look good when i get my own pad ). But when i got to the offices on the top floor - which took me a little while as the place was a maze - there were suddenly a LOT more Super Mutants to deal with, but i did find a prized shotgun just outside the main office. When i opened the last door there was a guy within their that whipped up a missile launcher faster than you can say "Wait a minute". I snapped into V.A.T.S. and took the good doctor down in three shots, but then got mauled by a mutant that was running around free. I did manage to fight the thing off but i had several critical limbs (both legs, and an arm). When i went into the office there was a very nasty looking creature locked up in a cage with several other corpses. I didn't take any chances and i killed the thing without opening the door to the cell. Inside was a mattress and around the office i did find a couple of stimpaks.

After taking the time to rest i continued on my way... (to be continued...)

Stuck in a loop!

Sorry for the lack of updates... a lot going on in RL... my Vault 101 dweller has been stuck in Operation Anchorage since my last update... but i hope to get him freed from the simulation real soon.

Burning the candle at both ends

Well, over my vacation i actually got one chance to play Fallout 3 some more. Having finally gained enough skill points to work on the Megaton nuke in the crater i went ahead to rig the thing to explode. I was playing this as a naive wanderer to this point. I then went to Craterside Supply to unload my goodies. But once that was taken care of i immediately headed out for Tenpenny Towers to meet up with Mr Burke.

Along the way i met up with a lot of wild animals, and as i drew near to my destination i ran into a group of Raiders fighting a group of Talon Company Mercenaries. I let the two of them fight it out and then looted the bodies picking up a flamer (which i used up on a pack of dogs).

When i finally arrived at Tenpenny Towers it was nothing to talk my way in and made my way up to talk to Mr Burke and Mr Tenpenny. I was strapped for time so my exploration of the building was limited to heading straight to the penthouse. Once there i spoke to both the men to see if i could talk them out of blowing up the little town, but neither would budge. Finally i decided that i couldn't just stand by while they blew up Megaton.

Before i took further action i saved the game, and promptly blew up the town. Why? Because i heard that the explosion sequence was pretty cool. I was going to put up a YouTube video, but they all had song tracks linked to them. While I appreciate the time and effort those guys put into the videos, i opted to not use one of them for this blog. I just wanted to see the sequence... which i did a couple of times... even saved a file to come back to it.

Anyway, once i was done playing around i restarted from the pre-nuking of Megaton and attempted to emplace a Frag Grenade in Mr Burke's pockets. I failed, but he didn't immediately turn hostile. Because i had no idea what i was instore for i promptly tossed the grenade at his feet - which he survived! - and then finished the job off with my 10mm pistol. But then i got immediatly jumped by Mr Tenpenny himself! I managed to survive that engagement and picked up his Sniper Rifle. Apparently he likes to take pot shots at things down in the Wastelands below. Not knowing what to expect i high tailed it all the way out of Tenpenny towers. I made it all the way back out again without anyone confonting me.

It was then i decided to listen to a new radio station i had picked up. (From the download of The Pitt and Operation: Anchorage add on). It was from a group calling themselves "Outcasts". So i followed the signal to the Baily Crossroads Metro Station where i was promptly met by this charming fellow. I then had to follow a group of them and help them fight a mess load of Super Mutants to their Headquarters. Unfortunately i don't have any more as i was out of time and had to get dinner on the table. 8) When i pick the game up again i will work on completing this quest, then get back to Megaton to disarm the bomb, and actually to begin to help Moira with her Wastelands survival guide.

More to follow as i have opportunity to play. On a different note - i pre-paid for my digital copy of Bloodbowl this morning! I am so looking forward to this game.

Letter Carrier

Well, over the long weekend i was able to get back to playing some Fallout 3. When i jumped back in i immediately headed down to disarm the bomb in the middle of Megaton only to find out the my 'explosives' skill was not high enough. It was about 0230 in the morning so i just wandered around town some more. I ran into Walter and picked up the side quest to repair the town's water pipes. Set about that mission - only to find out that my repair skill is not high enough.

Well, i have placed a few "limitations" on myself during this play through. 1) I am not fast traveling anywhere. 2) I am not going to use any drugs, except the stimpacks to heal myself. 3) I am playing this as a "good guy", but with the realistic bent that the character is not a 'saint'.

Thus i found myself in a dilemma. I now have two quests that require higher skill sets. it was obvious i was going to have to venture back out into the wastes, but i wanted to get rid of the extra items i'd picked up when i fled Vault 101 and hopefully pick up more ammo and stimpacks. Unfortunately - Craterside Supply was closed, so i headed to the Moriarty's Saloon. There was a woman there who pretty much brushed me off (Charisma of 2), and then Gob. I was nice to the guy, and i ended up getting some stimpacks off of him. He also told me that Moriarty might know where 'Dear ol' Dad' had wandered off to. Unfortunately all i learned was that 'Dad' had indeed come through, but i would have to pay for the information. I was not in a generous mood so i declined to pay. Unfortunately i may have to reverse this position at some point in the future. That was when i met Mr Burke.


An interesting character Mr. Burke. Apparently he has something against the town of Megaton. Now, to be honest, i know about the mushroom cloud if you do blow this little village up, so i went ahead took the quest, playing it as a naive vault dweller. My plan is to go through with the quest only so far as to back down when the time comes. Not sure how that will play out though.

After my meeting with Mr Burke i went back to the bomb, only to discover that i still didn't have a high enough 'explosives' skill ~ duh! So i went back to the Saloon. When i go t back to the Saloon i ran into Lucy West. She needed a message delivered to her family in some place called Arefu. This was my chance to get out and get some more experience. Without further delay i went ahead and left town.

Once outside i met up with a wandering merchant... the name escapes me now three days later. Anyway, i sold off my junk, bought some ammo, and repaired the sniper rifle. Then i headed out to Arefu. Once there i learned that the West family had been killed and the son was no where to be found. Even King mentioned that "The Family" might have taken him and he kindly game me a vague reference of which direction they may have gone.

(Side note: Since i am working on collecting all of the Bobble heads, i knew that Evan King had the "repair" one, but when i tried to pick the lock to his place guess what... that's right. Not a high enough skill. I ended up picking it up on my way back home later.)

So off i went after the elusive Ian West. I decided to work from North to South of the three locations Evan told me about. This brought me to the Northwest Seneca Station for the subway (Metro if you actually live in the Washington DC area like i do). But before hand i checked out a building i seemed to have access to (you can usually tell this by the fact that the door way is not all boarded up). I found a few interesting items, mostly junk, some stuff call Sugar Bombs and a Stealth Boy!. Once completed there i headed down. I ran into some guys that looked a whole like Gob and found out that he would pay caps (money) for the Sugar Bombs i had just found. They also told me of a tunnel to get down into the subway tunnels that would take me to the family. Down there i ran into two things that looked like crab-like humanoids. They womped on me good and were very, very, tough to kill! Anyway, after running into some traps in the tunnels i found my way to "The Family's" home at the Mereseti Metro Station.

Being too inexperienced i didn't push my luck. I didn't take anything, i didn't provoke anyone, and eventually they let me talk to Ian. Eventually he decided to go back home. When i told Vance about Ian's decision (i thought for sure he was going to kill me) he actually thanked me and gave me the skematics for the Shiskabab. Cool! Essentially it's the directions to make a flaming sword like deal. I also brokered a deal between "The Family" and Arefu. This also gained me a level. I went back, told Evan King about the new arrangement and headed back to Megaton.

Once back there, the first thing i did was went around and repaired all of the leaking pipes and sold what scrap metal i had to Walter. Then i went down to the bomb and rigged it to explode for Mr Burke. But when i was heading back up the hill i ran back into Lucas Simms (the Megaton Sheriff). In my conversation tree the option to tell him Mr Burke had hired me to blow up the place was there. I told him, but then chickened out when i had to tell him what i had done... so... i told him i was just kidding.

By now i was getting a little wosey because of being sick... this had been about three hours of play time after all. Just one more task before i turned it off... i picked the lock to Lucas' place so i could get the strength bobblehead. Once that was done i moved on back to Craterside Supply where i promptly saved the game and turned off the computer so i could go take a nap.

Hopefully i will get to place some more this weekend... in the mean time i plan on picking up the first Physical release of the first two DLC files for Operation Anchorage, and The Pitt. I am told that the next physical release containing Broken Steel and something called Point Lookout, will be released in August. I am sooooo looking forward to it...