7 Days Until Fallout 4

[Gusington]

I never made it past the dull intro in that first desert town. I trained and leveled up a little there and did some courier missions and then stopped playing.

[BanzaiCat]

Give it a chance. Head south to Primm, dig around there for a little, head south to the Mojave Outpost (you'll see the giant statue off in the distance), explore a little around there, then head east to Nipton, where you'll get your first real inkling into the game. It should unfold from there. There's not much to really get intrigued by until you get to that point.

[Kushan]

I've been playing a lot of Fallout 4 this last week but last night I had one of those start playing at 6pm then look at the clock and realize its 3am. Literally trekked from one end of the Wasteland to the other to get to my quest objective.

Had a couple of of cool random encounters, including running into a death claw without no power armor in sight. Was going through a town when I noticed some dead super mutants, turn a corner and there in front of me is the death claw in a sea of dead super mutant bodies. I turn an run, thinking when the last time I save was. I get away when I start hearing laser fire behind me, thinking my companion decided to fight anyway I go back, only to find that a Brotherhood of Steel squad (in power armor) had arrived behind me and where attacking the death claw. Well after a few close calls when it looked at me, we managed to kill it. Decided to to stick with them as they seemed to be heading my way at the time. We arrive in the next town. The town had been almost completely flooded but with boards placed across roof tops to act as bridges. Well this town also happened to have what seemed like continuously spawning ghouls. After spending probably 10-15 minutes there shooting up ghouls I said goodbye to my brotherhood comrades and headed off towards the objective I had originally been after.

I saw on Kotaku that you are not supposed to go to Mosigner Palace as it can cause a crash. Coincidentally that was the place I had just cleared the night before. Played all night with no crashes. Games been rock stable since day 1 for me.

[Nefaro]

I saw on Kotaku that you are not supposed to go to Mosigner Palace as it can cause a crash. Coincidentally that was the place I had just cleared the night before. Played all night with no crashes. Games been rock stable since day 1 for me.

I think all the extra bullshit running in the background of many peoples' PCs cause constant problems with games.  It's happened to me numerous times in recent years. 

Nvidia GeForce Experience caused something to crash regularly.  Logitech SetPoint did the same with another one or two. 

Even one (or more) of the programs which came factory-loaded on my laptop was causing stability issues with Windows when it went into Standby or Sleep mode.  I eventually got sick of trying to figure out what it was, wiped the hard drive, and loaded a clean Windows 7 install from DVD-ROM.  Problem solved!

The point:  I try to keep my background processes somewhat clean so if I have these software conflicts then others probably do so even more.  After fixing people's personal PCs for years, I've seen just how much the average user lets their system tray get filled with junk which end up causing problems like these.  It's not only hardware conflicts they need to test for these days.

[BanzaiCat]

I've been trying to get into Fallout 2 this last week or so in bits and pieces, and just can't get into it. I don't think I ever finished it (though I did finish 1). I reinstalled Fallout 3 last night to try once again - I have all the DLC for it from some super sale a long time ago. Also I think there's a super-sale going on right now for New Vegas, 3, 2, and 1, and all the DLC for New Vegas and 3. I think it's on Bundle Stars.

[Gusington]

Another game in the series that I want to play more of and I think is highly under rated is Tactics. I bought it for like a dollar last year and have only played it for a few hours but it is a very good game, lots of variety and fun and well put together.

[BanzaiCat]

I think Tactics is part of that bundle, also. I have it on GOG along with F1 and F2 but I don't think I've played it.

[airboy]

I keep getting clobbered at the Cambridge Police Station fight.  Lost it 4 times in a row.

I don't have combat armor and was wearing modified leather.  The ghouls just keep coming until I eventually go down.

Do you need to wear the combat armor to have a chance in this fight?  Or am I doing something dumb?

[SirAndrewD]

I keep getting clobbered at the Cambridge Police Station fight.  Lost it 4 times in a row.

I don't have combat armor and was wearing modified leather.  The ghouls just keep coming until I eventually go down.

Do you need to wear the combat armor to have a chance in this fight?  Or am I doing something dumb?

It's a hard fight.  Use VATS as much as you can, it helps. 

Stand behind the guy in Powered Armor as much as possible. 

When going against Feral Ghouls, be hot and heavy on the melee function on your weapon.  It helps if you have a bayonet. 

Shotguns at point blank to the head on a Feral is pretty much a one shot kill.

If all else fails, take your suit of Power Armor and use the Fusion Core you get from the Museum of Freedom. 

[sandman2575]

Shotguns at point blank to the head on a Feral is pretty much a one shot kill.

This. Shotgun is your best friend when it comes to Ferals, especially when fighting indoors. (I'm not big on melee myself.)

I'm also a big fan of the "attack dog" perk, which lets Dogmeat immobilize enemies while you casually blow them away.

Not sure why the designers decided to make Harvard Square (er, "College Square") such a breeding ground for ghouls. They're everywhere, and not in small numbers. A bit of social commentary, perhaps... ;)  Nor does the Massachusetts "Institute" of Tech. come off all too well either. 

[JudgeDredd]

Two rounds at a time and slow loading making it a nightmare for swarms though. Best bet is a quick fire weapon and get the head...it'll still kill them.

Tip - in case anyone hadn't figured this out yet - but when you have power armour, don't wear it to start your next quest. Invariably, you'll have a ways to go even from your closest Fast Travel place and therefore use up the fusion core. Instead make, your way there in your normal gear and when you get the message you've discovered the place, fast travel back to your base, suit up and fast travel back.

That might be classed as cheating - but I'm just using what the game gave me. 

[sandman2575]

Two rounds at a time and slow loading making it a nightmare for swarms though. Best bet is a quick fire weapon and get the head...it'll still kill them.

You need to get the combat shotgun (or whatever it's called) -- you can mod a high capacity clip (mine holds 12 shots).  Thing is awesome. I call it "Punisher".  (Naming your weapons is one of those small touches that make a big difference to me. Love it.)

I always feel bad about using Fast Travel, here as in TES games, although I find I use it all the time... Just feels like a bit of an exploit. I'd never get close to finishing the game without it.

[SirAndrewD]

Two rounds at a time and slow loading making it a nightmare for swarms though. Best bet is a quick fire weapon and get the head...it'll still kill them.

Tip - in case anyone hadn't figured this out yet - but when you have power armour, don't wear it to start your next quest. Invariably, you'll have a ways to go even from your closest Fast Travel place and therefore use up the fusion core. Instead make, your way there in your normal gear and when you get the message you've discovered the place, fast travel back to your base, suit up and fast travel back.

That might be classed as cheating - but I'm just using what the game gave me. 

It's working as intended.  The idea is to explore in regular armor, and equip power armor before fast travel for known, tough fights. 

As a tip, when it comes time to retake the Citadel for the Minutemen, don't even think about trying it without powered armor.  Same for when you have to explore the armory later.  Not trying to be spoilery, but there are some battles in which the game plans on you having power armor on, and if you don't you're essentially going to be instantly killed, a lot. 

Fast travel without core drain is put in just for those circumstances. 

Also of note, there is a mod on Nexus mods that removes core drain for regular movement.  It's a bit too close to feeling like a cheat to me, but it's for people that hate fast travel.

[BanzaiCat]

Is that the balance, then...having power armor use cost energy, to balance out removing repair as a thing? I'd rather have repair than have to worry about powering armor...I'd probably use a mod when the time comes.

[SirAndrewD]

Is that the balance, then...having power armor use cost energy, to balance out removing repair as a thing? I'd rather have repair than have to worry about powering armor...I'd probably use a mod when the time comes.

You actually have to repair power armor as well.  Fortunately, you can repair it from base materials like steel, circuitry, ect.  However, power armor is the one item that still degrades from use. 

The balance is that you get power armor very early, often and easily.  I still feel like I'm in the early game at around 40 hours (a good portion of that has been spent tinkering) and level 22, but I already have a complete set of T-45, a set of T-51 and a mixed T-45/51 set.