LadyCrimson

Never mind, I suddenly remembered. Another brainfart.

Well, it's going to depend on your build/stats/skills as well as your strategy - eg how much combat you purposely avoid, either by sneaking or dialogue options etc. Since you can easily reach Freeside/NV with only having to fight the occasional bandit but still having plenty of caps to get into Vegas if you want, it's not hard at all. Actually, you can even get to Vegas via the deathclaw direction. But because Novac is my first fave area I do it first (I usually skip Primm/ignore Powder Ganges entirely....). Currently I'm lvl 2 and almost in Novac & I've wiped out every jackal bandit, idle convict, occasional small radscorpion & non-glowing zombie etc. with out much trouble at all. Yesterday w/a different chr. I did the entire Come Fly With Me/Repconn at lvl 3. Since I had foreknowledge, it took about 20 minutes. I came close to dying a few times, but that's it. In Very Hard/non-hardcore, I'm not saying it's super-duper-easy (w/out a companion)...but as a sniper/gunner, it's not hard at all. I still hardly ever have to use a stimpack in combat and the caps still pile up like mad even tho I'm not exploring much at all. I stick to main road, skip Primm, etc.

Reporting that the new patch does NOT make my need for the .dll fix go away, as some websites are saying it might. Tried removing the .dll and in Red Rock (or any area that has a lot of objects/partially underground objects like rocks), in certain spots fps still dipped into the low 20's or worse. Put the .dll back in, goes back up to 60-70fps. Oh well.

Starting over again (w/same chr., I reload a save in DocMitch's house) because I can't stop fiddling with the exp. stuff/deciding what I want out of it. xpbase at default of 200 xpbumpbase to 500 (from 150) (will need 3 or 4 times exp to reach lvl 20 I think) xpRewards for hack, speech and pick lock cut by half xpRewards for killing enemies/npc lowered so nothing should give me more than 10xp rewards for area/secret discovery set to 1 instead of 10. Should at least make getting to lvl 16 take a good while, and getting to lvl 22+ take a very long while, if ever. I'll self-gimp a bit more & stick with this one until level 12 and see how it goes.

Oh...I see. I've never had them get lost via Fast Travel etc. so that didn't occur to me. Would make sense!

I haven't done any implants yet. The thought gives me the heebie jeebies.

Ohhhh so that was a bug? I just thought it had some kind of reload delay for the weapon. lol! Well, cool. Hm. Wonder what those issues were. That's nice for the more casual players, definitely. Saw many posts where ppl didn't find anyone but Boone until way late in the game. ...if they do fix the companions skill scripting, it'll be very interesting to see how much it really does affect them. Personally I don't think it will that much overall, except for Boone's low-level super OP'd. They're still aimbots who will always far out-beat the player in speed & accuracy while shooting/fighting. I tried lowering Boone's Luck to 1 & his END to 5 in GECK and he was definitely less durable/accurate overall but he's still a beast at low levels because of the skill number bug I guess, so I put him back to original.

I was disappointed with the headgear. Except for aesthetic or comic value (try putting a motorcycle helmet on Boone....) everything but the beret felt extraneous (for a gunner/sniper at least). Side Tag note: I took the Four Eyes and "your limbs are easily crippled" perks and the latter does make a big difference in how fast my limb condition deteriorates/need more stimpacks to keep them healthy. So I think I'll keep it & not offset it with that other perk (adamantite skelie?). It's nice having 6/9/4/4/7/7/7 with (edit, wait, sorry, I did take 1 intense training I think...). Plus I always wear sunglasses anyway, because it looks cool.

The voice files indicate there's a lot of such tiny lines companions can say but for some reason during course of play most won't ever hear them. I don't know what triggers them all. Every great once in a while Boone says something new, and it does make me laugh. I wanted to try Cass in my current test/play but since I'm lvl 3 with a Barter & Speech of about 14 each, I can't pass the quest that makes her available to recruit. ::sadpanda::

I was wondering that myself in regards to the Finesse perk...if I already have 8+ Luck, is there a point to taking it etc. Since Boone has 6 Luck/Crit and they gave him a hat that's +5Crit I don't think it's capped at 10. It sure felt like having high Luck, beret, and Finesse made a big difference in my run & gun crits when combined together, but I'm not 100% sure on that. Edit: the wiki says, for Fallout 3 : The maximum possible base critical chance is 18% with ranged weapons, and 33% with unarmed and melee weapons. The base critical chance is modified by a weapon's critical multiplier to obtain the final chance to score a critical hit. Also, a +15% critical chance bonus is added to all attacks in V.A.T.S. The problem is I'm not sure if they changed how it works for NV.

Remember when I said I wish there was a subtle romance option with Boone? Just wanted to say I don't anymore. Not in terms of the game plots anyway (inside my head might be another story). His tale is so woeful that it would seem rude to romance him. Not that kind of character. I very much liked roleplaying his one friend in the world, tho. It still made me feel 'special' so that was good enough. :D In terms of XP....I do love making my character more powerful, but that doesn't always mean more actual xp or skill points...new gear and tactics are just as important from my perspective, especially in this game seems like. But since I can get high lvl weapons at lvl 3 w/hardly trying, I focus on trying to change the former. And yeah, there's always going to be those few certain clusters or quest groups that can be difficult to deal with. I just want the whole game to feel more overall challenging plus have those few very tough spots. If those deathclaws ignore DT (which is cheating, I agree) then from now on I'm going to fight them all wearing my skivvies! Maybe it'll scare them into submission.

@ cant - never felt insulted! Was just saying how it's strange because I do think of myself as much more than a casual player, but not a particularly hardcore one as I'd define it. And especially the past few years, not much of an active one either. I do tend to become very obsessive compulsive when a game (or anything else) truly grabs me & that's when I get hardcore...and start posting on forums...but it's not super typical. It's like how I'll make time to watch all the baseball games, but I don't care about stats/trading at all & couldn't tell you who's in the Hall of Fame or why...

After roleplaying his friend & enjoying his story/chr etc., I now find his dour & serious demeanor to be absolutely hilarious to poke fun with! Which reminds me: (it's only 7 seconds long) And if you don't want to watch even 7 seconds:this time Boone REALLY wants his beret back... ...it's more funny when you hear him say it, tho, imo.

There's a broken fridge near Goodsprings, with a skeleton in it, that spawns the 'fancy gambling hat' or something...(for female chrs. it's the purplish one w/the feather)...that's Wild Wasteland too. From what I understand, beside the weapon replacements, a lot of WW is mostly dialogue related.

Yeah, I'm having similar experience as mkreku, only I'm still lvl 3 (enforced by my quickie modding). Each 'next better' weapon seems to increase dmg exponentially even with skills only at lvl 30 or 40. I can't initiate any dialogue skill-checks at all, and I'm certainly not getting "all critical kills" but I'm still punching through most things because of the weapons that drop from relatively easy enemies early on (like Legion & cowboy repeaters). I know where the risk-free sniper rifle is but I'm leaving it alone for now. heh For kicks, I'm considering letting myself level naturally until about 8 and then activating a mod where I'd need a billion xp to reach lvl9, so I'd have to plan skill use very carefully...and see if I can beat the game at that level. If I don't quite make it, that's ok...I just find it really fun trying. Edit: @ cant - It's odd because I wouldn't normally think of myself as 'hardcore' but games like this I guess I am. What I find entertaining/challenging can get a bit quirky! heheh

Hubby went to bed for the night and as he did so we had the following conversation: Hubs:I might have a week off around Xmas again. Me:Did you want to do anything? Hubs:Maybe I'll play a video game like last year. (Borderlands) Me:Then you'll have to decide which one you might like/will play. Hubs:No, I'll play yours. Me:What if you don't like the game I'm playing at that time? Hubs:No, I mean *your game.* Me:Are you saying I'll still be playing FO:NV? Hubs:Yes. Me: .... Hubs:And you can tell me what to do/where to go again, since I'm lazy. Me: ....

I completely agree. Open games such as this one, trying to balance for all possible ways someone might wish to play it out, it's always a problem. Which is why earlier I was saying I wasn't complaining....because I can change things myself via the editor, while others who think it's fine the way it is can leave it alone. It's all good.

I would disagree about a generalist more sterile statement. There are always conflicting "studies" about things like that. The pro-wood one from 1993 didn't have a lot to back it up tho. Last I knew many commercial food service still aren't supposed to use wooden ones, but it's been a while since I've checked that. Plastic should be replaced more often because it damages easier over time (especially w/serrated blades) giving germs more "area" to cling to, but they also tend to be cheaper, so it's easy to have many separate purpose ones/buy new ones. They're also light. If you replace them often enough, clean them w/bleach, etc. the non-porous surface & other conveniences still beats wood, imo.

Without serious self-gimping, it makes you too powerful too fast? I don't mind being a killing machine in games like Diablo (in fact I kinda like it) where items and the hunt for very rare ones is what keeps me going, but games like NV have me wanting combat scenarios to have a little adrenaline & satisfaction kick to them. Otherwise I get little bored of doing 100's of 'go here do this' quests to finish the plotline. It becomes "ho hum, another location, another Vault" instead of "ooo another scary/tough Vault." And no, for me the plot isn't enough. Tho I do really enjoy torturing Boone and other non-essential silly things for hours, a whole lot, too. ...hence why I'll restart over and over...the early levels are the hardest/present the most challenge. Or I'll try beating a game while staying lvl 1 or reload a tough battle repeatedly. I've been having great fun trying to take on a lot of Freeside & its surrounding areas whilst lvl 3. My low skill scores (speech is 20, Barter is 14, etc), however, are starting to be an impediment to doing quests they way I want.

...and here's an unrelated one. Too bad some of the best/funniest shots are via using VATS... "Eat This!"

First time I tried the Raider armors on Boone. omg I was LOL'ing so much!! "So that's what you want, is it, Boone?" "All right, time to play..." "Like that? Do ya?" "I like this outfit on you better." "Day time already? Time to go back to Legion hunting..."

In most games I haven't minded weight limits much at all (tho I prefer none, obviously) but in this game the rapidity with which I'd reach 200 or 250 weight units drove me insane. Having to go back to 'town' to sell gear every 10 minutes, even w/repairing stuff to consolidate, was a serious detraction for me. Plus, using Boone, he not only refuses to wear faction armor, he also refuses to carry it. The silly goose.

I would like a Fallout:San Francisco/Bay Area, please.

I give up. There's no good/not expensive program I can find that's different in this regard. I guess I'll go back to using Fraps 'half-size' option at least for things like dialogue trees. Don't need 1920.1080 for those anyway.

I'm not complaining per se:I'd still play the game even if I couldn't change it, because I like it that much. But the joy of game editors (& why I still love pc gaming) is that you can alter things into something much closer to the way you personally may prefer them to be, whatever that may be - thus you don't have to complain in the first place. My complaint, if I have one, is that I can't seem to quite figure out how to do it/get it quite right, yet. And yeah...leveling is auto-triggered. You can't escape it. Nor can you escape some of those triggered actor events like the Star Bottle Cap guy interrupting me right as a Gecko's arm was in mid-swing in my face, then him running off screaming "Hey, wow, look out!" when his forced dialogue ended.