Animal Friend is one perk I have never taken in the game. I think I've had level 1, but never level 2.
I must give that a go sometime. A melee build and Animal Friend.

And yes you just pass out unconscious now once the explosion takes place.

Animal Friend (or something like it) would make so much sense in Elder Scrolls games, in which it would actually fit lore-wise with certain characters and races. Thank goodness for mods.

Congrads to Hectate. I am enjoying the Wasteland Survival Guide quests. Finally figured out the mirelurk quest yesterday. Cho had to use some stealthboy for that one!

/ / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /



*click*

Pipboy recording app ON. Date: 09.15.77, 5:47

Hey. It's Cho again. Cho Zen-Wahn. Break.

Tonight I am hiding out in a place called Farragut West Station. I am with a friend named Marge. Marge N. Overra. She also got kicked out of Vault 101. Marge is good with computers, and medical stuff. So am I, but I'm not nearly as good as she is. Anyway, Marge has joined me. She's asleep. We're both on our way to that quote / unquote mirelurk breeding place, or whatever the [censored]. Break.

Marge says one of the others will join us tomorrow. Joe King is his name. I said to Margie quote / unquote dammit, why does he have to come along? Joe will ruin everything! But Marge assures me that he will stay under control. Especially his drinking. He'll be toning it down, she promises. Whatever. I say he should stay behind in Megaton, but who am I to judge and dictate? I'm certainly no overseer, that's for sure. Break.

Got attacked earlier by some raiders. Who the [censored] else? Raiders suck. I got wounded a bit, and so did she. We were forced to run and hide into this quote / unquote subway depot. It's safe here. Nobody has been back here, since we rid the place of rabid ghouls, and mole rats. We've got some supplies here, and a cot to heal up on. And a computer, where I'll be uploading the bulk of this information from my Pipboy app. Looks like the app is working, though it needs some tweaking. Like when I say quote / unquote, I want it to make [censored] quotes, not spell the actual words out. Ahh. Margie can figure that one out. Break.

We've got some more supplies across the river. Place called Super Duper Mart, in one of its Nuka Cola machines. All kinds of ammo, guns, bombs, you name it. Again, nobody has returned to reclaim that place, so our gear is safe. Break.

Apparently, long ago there were thousands of Super Duper Marts all across America. Gigantic places where people could go to buy tons of food. Enormous places, some the size of small villages. Now, it's just full of dead raiders, tin cans, discarded rubbish. America must have been a great place, long ago. Break.

Need my rest. I told Marge I'd wake her, in a couple hours. We'll trade shifts, keeping guard. But I'm getting sleepy just sitting in this chair.

Pipboy recording app off. Date: 09.15.77 10:01
*click*

Cho, Marge, and Joe are on the loose together!

Really nice little snippets there, Renee. They certainly give a survival feel to it all which I fail to do with my goofiness when I run around blasting GNR all over the place


You got a knack for this

Does this happen to be the safe in the armory on the ground floor where Liberty Prime used to be - the armory that the player is barred out of and always has a girl repairing and selling within feet of the safe? Because if it is, I have sneaked into that armory and safe and emptied it out with the girl right there - on the 360, using a Stealthboy (had to). But is that the same safe or is it a different one only accessible by the bolmbing?






@ SubRosa and Winter Wolf - Okay, thanks for the info on how to start BoS - really didn't remember, and I came across that tunnel when I went to the Last Chance Camp; and didn't want to go in because I was afraid it would jump-start the questline.







I agree, SubRosa actually made a mod for that in Oblivion.

Holy Cow on the picture !!! If it wasn't for the fan and the pipboy I would have thought it was a photograph of you sitting at your desk (PC) -

What a great shot !!! And the clothing, what clothing is that? Awesome shot !!

Wow, I love that final statement Renee. There is something about it that is sooo Fallout.




No, the area with the gun is a new location that can only be accessed from the bombing of the Citadel. It is totally different from the early area where that girl and safe are. This one looks more like the interior cell of one of the office buildings. It has Nuka machine, stairs and a heap of desks and cabinets.

Low Quality but shows it here

You are safe with the Tunnel at Rockland. It cannot be accessed before the quest starts (Death from Above) unless you use console.

Oh, that is good to know. I do like sneaking through places before the quest is going on because in some of them you are rushed too much to loot while the quest is running - but in Fallout 3 doing that will net you skipped quests/questline jumpstarts/and inadvertent quest completions.


Hm, now you've made me wonder if I can toggle clipping and go underground there and find it (although it is probably marked as "initially disabled so I probably won't find anything there).







Gaaaaah, that vid makes me want to do it just to explore a new place I haven't seen, lol.

Wow, that is one big crater inside the Citadel! I am surprised you can get back out again. Unless it is by fast travel.

Yesterday Hecate headed east, and explored the northern edge of the DC Ruins. She tackled the National Guard Depot, and got the bobblehead for small guns. She also knocked off Rock Creek Caverns, and for good measure the Vault with the all Garys in it (108?). That netted her the Charisma bobblehead as well. So now the next time she levels up she should be able to take the first rank in Animal Friend.

Ha ha ha bobbleheads. I forgot all about those!

That's good to know about the tunnel of Rockland, Winter Wolf. I'm not sure where that is, but it'll be good to know that about how the quest works.



Yup, Witchcraft and Forest Friend Amulet. I got 'em both for Lady Saga's game. Best thing to happen to her, since she is Bosmer, she's supposed to have some animals be neutral to her. I like these two mods because they affect a lot of vanilla creatures, but do not affect MMM and other mods, so there's this variety in animal behavior that makes Cyrodiil feel not 90% aggressive, like the vanilla game is.


Thatnks! That's just a digicam shot, his game is on Xbox, you see. I'm having great fun with Fallout 3. I think he's wearing Talon Combat armor lately. He wore Vault 101 armor up until recently, but he thinks that this gear makes him stand out too much, so he switched to Talon.

I love seeing that crater in HD. It looks awesome! All that practice shooting and push-ups amounted to nothing after Ben came along!

What actually happens (that wasn't shown on the vid) is that you can enter at the bottom of the crater but exit at the top. On the video he just exited from the same door, but if you explore the location completely you go pass the armory cells and jump to the level above. Finding a set of stairs you can continue up into the building and come across an exit door. Leaving it you find yourself higher than the crater.

Ahh, the Garys. Wow, that is some crazy memories. First time I couldn't work out what was going on. But the Terrible Shotgun certainly did!


It is worth doing it mALX, just save before you touch the computer then reload the save after if you are playing a good character! And role play that those berry mentats had been laced by somebody. Lol.

Gary? Gary....


Gary!!!



Still running around doing my thing Gunny is the best companion ever! I don´t even like to have someone following me around but I´m so glad I gave him a chance

The Firelance Event happened a few days ago in Hecate's game. This time I actually heard it coming. It has the same sound as incoming artillery. I looked up just in time to see the black trail of smoke, and then the explosion in mid-air. It scattered over a huge area though. I had to disable the trees and grass with the TT and TG commands to find all the power cells. Even then I barely found the Firelance itself.

Not that Hecate will ever use it. She's a riflewoman, not an energy pistol user. But it now has a place of honor among the trophies on her desk at home.

That´s how I experienced the Event™ too only I didn´t think that was it at the moment


Forgot to mention. Yesterday I looked a little closer in one of the trucks by the Nuka-Cola factory. Lo and behold; 13 regular bottles and one Quantum that I have been running past all this time!

Fixed.

Congrats!!

Location?
Number of Hours in?

Mirocu- I know the feeling. I have had skill books sit for 200 hours before I saw them right under my nose.

What´s funny is the same thing happened on the north-south going road that runs past L. Lamplight; a truck by the side of the road I never bothered to check out until that fateful day when I jumped down on a whim and found a Quantum!

Hiding in plain sight is indeed the most efficient method

It was northwest of Robco, and straight north fromTenpenny Tower. There is a little power substation with a semi truck and trailer next to it. It was right outside of that. Oh, it has a name - VAPL-84 power station.

Let's see, it was 17 hours into Hecate's game. Though of course I played Molly's entire game without ever having the Firelance™ happening, and that was 72 hours. I am not sure how many other characters I have played since it has happened the last time. My guess is that it probably has been well over a hundred hours, maybe two hundred.


You have to leave no truck unturned in this game!

VAPL-84, ah yes a nesting hive of scum and villainy where Yao Guai love to roam. I am forever having to eradicate those nasty beasts down there. Great to see the Firelance™ finally happen after that long wait. There is nothing worse than the acceptance that luck is against one particular character.

I think I am going to, just because I can't stand not seeing it - then reload the save beforehand and play it out as I normally would.

My roleplay has a lot more Dr. Braun in it than the game highlights anyway. I noticed a whole lot of computer entries that mentioned Braun, he did a lot of dabbling around pre-war in the game - so in MY game I come across a lot more he has done that affects the player; including Braun's G.E.C.K. having been used in creating environments and simulations that the player may stumble into in their travels.







Who is Gunny?







Holy Cow, another trick I need to remember !!!!







Yes, I am a looter at heart - know the contents of every available item in the vanilla game, lol.







They have stopped attacking my character with the Animal Friend perk; fight any enemies around with the second level of that perk - it is so hard to kill them now, yet their meat is so awesome! Misa is torn between need of the meat and guilt she is killing an animal not in defense of herself. Like killing deer or bunnies in RL or something.

This is Gunny

Aha! A mod, no wonder I didn't recognize the name, lol.

You have the answer right there! It is the GECK that is spitting out the Yao Guai into the wasteland. Misa knows that killing them is only part of the simulation.

By the way that is a really cool idea you came up with regarding Braun. It really helps to mold the role play into whichever direction you wish to take it.

Yes, he is very active in my roleplay, and is a good explanation for why my modded homes look so clean and well kept - unbombed, lol.

200.000 bottle caps!

Yup! Today I reached my goal! And here´s the proof!

Next up: 300.000

Very cool! That's wonderful, Mirocu. I wouldn't doubt you about proof, you've been at that game for awhile.

I have reached a sort of milestone, too. Cho Zen-Wahn has just got to Rivet City. None of mine have ever been here before, and I'm about to go in there now, I'm sure it'll be mind-blowing!

Funny story. When Cho initially got there, he had no idea how to get in. Could not find its entrance. Walked all the way around the ship. No bridge. Finally we found a short platform bridge to cross, but it led to a door with a Very Hard lock. We were out of ideas.

Finally, the thought occurred: wasn't there some sort of intercom up on top of that ruined building?

XD

Awesome, Renee! You´ll have a blast in Rivet City!


I also was a bit lost when I first got there, btw. Couldn´t find the entrance either...

I am sure it confused a lot of people, while others figured it out on-the-spot.

The thing is, intercoms don't actually work most of the time. So Cho simply looked at it, shrugged, and tried to figure out how the heck to get onto that thing! I actually spent two entire play-sessions trying to get onto RC, not having any luck, exploring the area for any clues, etc. He went in Jefferson Memorial, too. Not at all like it is now in 2015!

You have more money than Croesus!

Wow, my first time to Rivet City I walked right up to the platform across the carrier and used the intercom!

Yeah, I had no trouble with the bridge either. The Replicated Quest, however, was trouble for me. The underwater door you see, very dangerous, you go first...


Ha! I have no doubt either. Mirocu was crazy enough to aim for 100k, so I have noooo doubt about him and 200k.

Anyway, congrats Mirocu!!

Yeah, congrats to me for my OCD!




Hey, it rhymed!

WOO HOO! I used to keep my savings in my desk, lol.






That first bridge is to Doc Peterson's, lol. I had the same experience when I first went to Rivet City - didn't notice the intercom at first or realize what it was. Had to ask my son how to get on board, lol.







I went that way twice, after that I waited to do the quest till I could pick that 100 lock Renee was talking about.

All that was on the 360 where I couldn't just "console open" the door, lol. This is my very first game on the PC, and I've been kind of exploring the things I can do with the console that I never could before - like toggling clipping to get out of being stuck, etc.

I even started exploring a few places that required keys - a few times that messed me up; because in FO3 there are several that automatically update a quest when you enter them; sometimes skipping parts of a questline to do it; which I absolutely don't want to do.

Yesterday I sneaked into the Presidential and Rock Tunnels for the BS DLC. The Presidential was empty, but not the Rock Tunnel. In the Rock Tunnel, immediately the tunnel was filled with BoS in their power armor running - so I backed out real quick; scared to death to miss any of that BS questline, it is such a good one.

Yeah mALX, you don´t wanna miss out on any of the fun


I think my bottle cap collecting OCD is what keeps me having fun with Fallout 3. I have explored most nooks and crannies which is always my biggest drive regarding any game and I have so many guns and so much ammo it´s ridiculous. I´ve also maxed out my levels of course so I don´t have any drive there.

I may miss out on a few places due to not doing the MQ but meh, that´s no biggie. I have seen most anyway. No small questlines left either and only three bobbleheads and I know I can´t get them all, so collecting bottle caps is what keeps me going. But not only that, I also collect anything Nuka-related, teddy bears, lunchboxes, pencils etc etc.


Plus, it just never gets boring capping raiders whilst listening to 3Dawwg!

I'm big on collecting too, just different objectives. Rare or unique weapons/armor/items; Bobbleheads; skill and pre-war books; BoS Holotags; Nuka Cola Quantums; Nuka Cola trucks; intact Garden Gnomes; teddy bears; scrap metal; bottlecaps.

The scrap iron is sold under contract, of course - to Walter until/unless he dies. The rare and unique items are kept whether I use them or not, either displayed or kept in the bedroom file cabinet. Nuka trucks and Gnomes are always on display; teddys always on the bed. Skill books are used up; pre-war books either sold or displayed.

Quantums = sold, then used to make grenades - but THIS game I used the console to open the Nuka machine (since it required an unattainable key in all my 360 games) and stole the quantums back after getting paid and the quest ending, lol.

Actually, we collect the same things it seems

I also collect Damaged Garden Gnomes, pre-War money, red and blue passcards, mininukes and Radscorpion Glands (have 1000 now, would have more but I sell them off regularly). But I never sell off the pre-War books and I regret selling to Sierra.

There´s probably more I collect...

I forgot the prewar money; mini-nukes and Fatmen; subway passes; Office ID; etc - yeah, I collect them too. And I have a bunch of Riverboat tickets too - usually carry one of each of those passes just in case I turn on a robot to clear the enemies out; that way they don't look at me as an intruder too.

I keep the prewar money too, just like having it. The mini-nukes - love to see them blow up stuff, lol.

Ha! mALX stop teasing yourself there! That is what feathers are for.

Broken Steel is epic and a great finish for the adventure. Just focus on completing everything else before you consider even that part of the game!!

Collecting items is so much fun. I have an army of gnomes around the balcony railing at Megaton, the giant teddy bear sideways in the chair beside the Nuka Cola machine, skill books and Wasteland Survival guide laying out on desks and a heap of Quantum all over the ground.

Oh, and empty milk bottles and tin cans outside the door ready for recycling. I wonder why they are never picked up?? And the broken monument of cartons dedicated to the fall of the UN.

Wolfie, this begs for some screenies of your Megaton home!

Agree with Mirocu - but more! I think we all should decorate our Player homes our way and submit screens for everyone to enjoy!

These are being posted on the FO Screenshots thread, in case anyone was looking for them here.


Since I never played FO3 on the PC before, I've been experimenting with doing quests in different ways; and testing out perks I never was able to use on the 360 (because my build had to keep my character alive, no room for fun stuff)

Well, since I've got the PC game I've been trying out all kinds of new things - just because I can now; the pressure is off.

Two perks I've tried that I never had tried before are the "Black Widow" and the "Animal Friend"

Quests - I never used to deal with Mr. Burke on the 360, just quickly boosted my explosives skills enough to diffuse (or should that be de-fuse?) the bomb so I'd have a place to sleep and heal up.

So my first game start on the PC I decided to deal with Mr. Burke for the first time; and was totally shocked when he shot down Sheriff Simms! Well, that wasn't going to happen, so I reloaded the save and this time shot Burke as soon as he reached for his gun. Did not get in trouble for it or get bad karma - but it was not a very fun or satisfying addition to the questline, may as well have just gone straight to the bomb.

So I reloaded that save again, and this time used the "Black Widow" option - propositioning Burke. I was stunned when Benny Burke immediately hurried off to tell Tenpenny to let Megaton live - okay, that was worth doing; but it didn't stop there! I just walked past Moriarty, and he stopped me to inform me he was not the post office, and I needed to tell Burke to quit writing me letters at his tavern! He handed me a letter from Mr. Burke - SPEW !!! I have been rolling laughing since I read it, OMG it was hilarious !!!

So I looked it up, there are four letters that come seven days apart, so I'm not fixing that bomb till I've seen all those letters, ROFL !!! This is a blast, I am so enjoying this - NEVER expected this !!! Fun!

The second Perk I've never tried before, I did discuss some on here - the Animal Friend perk. Somehow I thought it would be something like deer hunting for meat, that just because the Yao Gao's don't attack Misa; she could still hunt them for their meat - NO. Never again.

I killed four Yao Gao before doing the Yao Gao cave - have not killed one since; in fact started a new game because I did not want to play anymore with that character, I felt that awful about killing the Yao Gao's after getting that perk. Here is why:

The female Yao Gao lay down at your feet and make a purring sound if you use your "hand" to "pet" them. The males won't do it, but they don't attack.

Anyway, it made me feel horrible that I'd killed those four, sickened. So I started a new Misa - Asian Misa. Now, she will still eat Yao Gao meat, but will only kill them BEFORE taking that perk; and only if they attack her first.

*

I also just tried out for the first time the Perk that adds a secret guy who pops up and helps you in a really tough battle; can't remember the name of it. The first time he showed up, I'd completely forgotten about taking the perk, and never did see him in my vats - but I suddenly heard this noise and didn't know what it was - scared the heck out of me! He popped up twice since I took the perk, neither time when I was overwhelmed in battle - and the three times I was completely overwhelmed in battle he did NOT show up, lol. Oh well, it was still fun once I realized what that sound was.

I love the Black Widow perk. Besides the new dialogue options with people like Mr. Burke, it also gives you a 10% bonus to damage vs males. Since there are a lot of men in the game, it does help.

Animal Friend can make life a lot easier if you do a lot of traveling. Many of those annoying encounters on the road will stop, and sometimes you will get a helping paw, if a bad guy is near an animal.

That last one you mentioned is the Mysterious Stranger. He only appears when you are in VATS mode, and he vanishes once more once you leave VATS. That is what makes him so mysterious! But that .44 Magnum he packs can really even up the odds.

I didn't realize (or remember is more apt) that the Black Widow gave a bonus damage against male enemies! That is good to know! This Burke thing is the first time I've really seen a fun difference from using that perk option, the other times I've used it there has only been a slight difference in dialogue and barely worthy of using it - this is an actual fun event that continues, and involves other characters too - and the notes are hysterical!

Are there any other situations where using the Black Widow produces a fun outcome like this?

The animal friend perk has made a huge difference in traveling! I rarely if ever fast travel, and this perk has made traveling so much easier! And so far the dogs and Yao Gao have both come to my aid against raiders and robots; and once a giant rad scorpion.

What bothered me is that they put that additional action in the Yao Gao - laying down at your feet and making that pleased sound - that just killed me when I saw it and realized I'd been breaking my share of the truce by hunting them when they weren't attacking me - it genuinely upset me, I had to dump that game.

Oh, that is probably why I never saw the mysterious guy the first time, I heard the sound and jumped out of vats - it scared me, I thought my game was crashing or something, lol. The second time I actually saw him.

That mysterious stranger's 44 magnum - I consoled that gun just because I am trying out everything I couldn't do on the 360, that is a great gun!

You´re just like Renee when she first started to play Oblivion on the puter - going nuts with all the new options available!


I didn´t like the Burke thing either too much. And I had to reload several times before I managed to save Simms, even using VATS he was much too fast for me and Simms doesn´t take a whole lot. He should take lessons from Sir Richard Rose from Sunset Riders...

He needs to wear a bullet proof vest, he dropped like a stone and never got even one shot out.

Sorry for not replying sooner Mirocu. I have been off debating the merits of the next ES game!

The problem with screenies is that Ben was played entirely on 360. As there are no house mods there I go crazy with house designing on the 360. I never use a theme as that only gets in the way of things and I love placing items all over the house. Even something as simple as the clear drinking cup sitting on a Big Book of Science on the bedroom desk makes me smile when I see it.

I also have a murderous looking axe leaning against a wall on the ground level. Just a little reminder that I need to return to Point Lookout and finish things off. When on PC I never use Megaton and prefer to go with house mods.

The strange thing is that I cannot find them at Fallout Nexus. The authors must have taken them down for some reason. I must get my act together and show some pics.

The first house was a small mini bunker right outside Megaton, close to where Micky sits and asks for water. It had an armory with all weapons silhouetted on the wall where they hang. It is a cage structure that reminds me of the weapon lockup at the entrance to the corridor with Hannibal Lecter. So cool!

The second house was a vault under the road outside the Super Duper Mart. It was a huge personal vault that had a tunnel/drainage section that led to the door. The vault was quite large and extended under the road.

I only got the PC game a few months ago - played on the 360 for years, and know exactly what you mean about decorating by "hand." It is really frustrating and time consuming, but so rewarding when you finally get it right! I saved every time I'd get something an inch closer to perfect so I could just go back to that point if I messed up,

I had fishing poles, that special shovel, yeast, and moonshine from Point Lookout. The hardest hand setting up though was always the shelves in that Megaton house kitchen and living room.

And then the darn Robot Wadsworth knocks stuff down after all your hard work!


By the way, I built Wadsworth a room and altered his AI package so he can't leave that room now. The Player can walk up to him there for food/drinks/haircuts/jokes; no more knocked over stuff or being blocked in your bedroom!

I used to always decorate by hand back in Oblivion, and of course the result was finding out why the physics system is called Havok. So now I almost never do, except for a few things, like the teddy bears on the Megaton bed, and sometimes some trophies on the bedroom desk.

Same here, the desk and bears, placing the gnomes and Nuka trucks downstairs; and until this last game I never got a theme package (so usually did something with those shelves too - they were excruciatingly hard.

Yeah, that is enough frustration for me in one game, lol. It is so much easier in the CK, but darn! Can't collect them and use it!

One of the first mods I ever had in Oblivion (before I knew how to use mods) was one that helped you place items like books on shelves, not sure how it worked, but it made decorating so much easier! I haven't been able to find it in years, think I lost it in a hard drive crash and it is no longer on Nexus. Would like to see that one reproduced for all the games!

That´s what you gotta do


But what aboot the bulb..?


I´d ask for the mod if I hadn´t already fired him because -


"And that, children, was when I grabbed my shotgun"

I have disabled him, but he is really hard to sneak up on without getting the option to "talk" instead of the "disable?" you are trying for. I had to block him in the spare room and wait long hours in sneak several times over before the disable option showed up.

I think he might have meant disable him through the console. Just open the console, click on him, and enter in disable. Voila! No more Wadsworth.

Actually, I did mean filling that leadhead with even more lead which is what I really did