Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[jay-ell]

I'm not saying that; I'm just saying that my experience with New Vegas on the xBox is that it was similar to the experience I had with FO3 on the xBox, and since they used the same engine I think it's safe to say that the PS3 version of New Vegas will likely be as buggy as the PS3 version of FO3, so you might want to lean towards the PC version (when you can get online to activate it; I understand it requires Steam for activation/release patching but after that you should be able to play without an internet connection).

That's all I meant.

[Nabubrush]

Yeah, I get that. The PS3 thing was weird, because the bugs are well-known and Bethesda basically said "hey, fuck you". The periodic 8 meg freeze is basically SOP for all users, as far as I can tell. I'm not sure about the Steam thing and also Win 7. I'll monitor the opinions for a bit to decide PS3 vs PC, I guess.

[Nabubrush]

So I bought it for the PC. I had forgotten about my concerns about Steam. It's been installing and loading and activating for about two hours now, which . . . well, it's a bit jarring. There's no evidence so far that it can be played without logging into Steam, but I haven't done any in-depth investigation, because I'm afraid to upset the apple-cart just yet.

[Nabubrush]

Hey JL, I been playing this for like a week now. If there's anything you want to talk about that maybe won't be too terribly spoilerish of the endgame, I'm up for it.

Did you turn on the weird occurrences thing before you started the game? I did, but I've only had a couple weird things happen (I think).

[jay-ell]

I didn't, but Pedro did. I missed the part where you could pick 2 traits, so I only picked Four Eyes.

When you run across a "Wild Wasteland" thing, you'll get a sound cue and a floating icon in the upper left(?) of your screen to let you know. There's plenty of weird stuff without it.

Where are you, story/locationwise? There's lots of stuff I'd like to chatter about, but I don't want to throw out any spoilers. I haven't reached the endgame yet, myself -- I'm purposely trying to draw it out as long as possible. But there are some things you probably want to discover for yourself that are main-quest-related, so I don't want to start talking about stuff on The Strip if you haven't made it there (or took a different route).

[Nabubrush]

I just wiped out the Khans in Boulder. I fixed the solar collector. I saved the guy hiding in the gas station in Goodsprings. I installed the protectron as the sheriff. I cleaned up the prison. I've done some other exploring but thus far everything scares me too much. I'm used to being 30th level and deathclaws running in fear at the sound of my approach. Also, the poison bugs piss me off.

I don't think I've heard the sound cues or seen the icon, but I did come across a lone wanderer with a guitar (well, my guy commented on his guitar, even though it was propped up against a stump behind a billboard, some distance from us). He was escorted by some bodyguards. I also keep seeing crows or ravens, which strikes me as odd. I'm trying to resist the urge to look any of the stuff up on the wiki (but I've done so for some misc items that I don't want to schlep back to my house).

[jay-ell]

OK, if you'd encountered a true Wild Wasteland setup, you'd know. The Lone Wanderer is regular. Remember where he was, you might need him later.

Took out the khans, eh? I considered siding with them, or at least trying not to make them mad, until I found out they're slavers. I haven't taken them out at their HQ yet like I did at Paradise Falls, but I'm waiting to pick up a particular companion for that.

The poison bugs are awful. It's the only addition to combat I don't like, mainly because no matter how much antivenom I give my companions, they will not freakin' use it. I kept losing one particular companion to wandering radscorpions because she'd tear off in a random direction and I wouldn't even realize we were in combat until the thing was dead and she'd been stung. And don't try to use a stimpack on someone who's got venom in his bloodstream -- it'll kill them instantly. (Makes sense if you think about it.)

What level are you? A word of advice about the wandering monsters: if you see a group of cazadores, RUN. Those things are BITCHES. They're venomous, they're fast, and they FLY. If you have to fight them, shoot out their wings first. They're relatively easy to hit, and they slow the fuckers WAY down. That'll give you a fighting chance as long as there aren't too many of them.

[Nabubrush]

Yeah, I was meaning the cazadores - I ran into the ones behind the "do not enter" sign really early (I don't follow directions well) and I had to reload. The other ones were young, I think. I killed a few of them, and I got bit, and so did Boone - but he just kept going unconscious and getting back up until he got well, I guess. I've never had trouble with the scorpions. I think I might be tenth level or so.

I wanted to steal the Wanderer's guitar, but I resisted. I never really played the old FO3 as an evil guy, but I'm sort of wanting to do so with this edition.

I found Black Mountain but I didn't go up. I also found the deathclaw quarry but I only picked a few of them off. I have Boone and Ed-E right now as companions.

[Nabubrush]

Deathclaws are fuck*ng me over as they never did in the last game. Jebus.

On a different front, in the original game I always played goody two-shoes. Therefore, I always used the Megaton shack as my base. In NV, I'm using Victor's shack, but it's kind of a pain because I go to Goodsprings and have to hike, and if I want the reloading bench or workbench it's by the general store, and if I want the campfire it's by the springs - plus it only has three containers and I'm reluctant to use an ammo box for some reason. I looked at the quonset hut by the Yangtze memorial, but there's no campfire. I was just looking at (spoiler?)the cap counterfeiting shack as a potential base of ops, but I'm not sure that it has the amenities I want, either. What do you use? Have you found anything that has everything close by, and lots of containers and a bed?

Also, randomly, I'm having a lot more trouble with rads than I was in the last game. Weird, because a lot of the water isn't irradiated. And is it just me or is it kind of a pain in the ass not to have the little air meter from the last game? There might be things related to this issue that I haven't discovered yet, though. I'm really trying to play as much of this without spoiling it as I can.

[jay-ell]

I used a motel room in Novac until I got to the strip. (I still use it as a secondary base camp, but I don't store the bulk of my equipment there.) Hope that doesn't spoil anything for you, but if you've been putting off heading to Novac because you don't want to progress with the story too fast, it's probably worth your time to head over there next.

Wait, you have Boone? You must have been to Novac already, and completed "One For My Baby." If you didn't rent a room from Janie, depending how you completed the quest, you might not have the option to rent a room fro her any more. If that's the case, talk to the guy who runs the gift shop -- he'll give you a key for free, with the right speech options. (Doesn't require a speech check; it's just sort of buried in a conversation tree you might not have expected.)

Hope that helps. Let me know how it goes.

[Doc]

(Doesn't require a speech check; it's just sort of buried in a conversation tree you might not have expected.)

You get a motel room key in an unexpected conversation tree?
I'm guessing sexy side quest.

[jay-ell]

Not "One for my Baby." You're thinking of "Bleed Me Dry." 

[Nabubrush]

You get a motel room key in an unexpected conversation tree?
I'm guessing sexy side quest.

It wasn't sexy for the woman who gave me the key, that's for sure. That was a fairly jarring denouement, and I was even expecting it.

It did not occur to me to use the Novac room. I can't remember off the top of my head, where are the closest crafting/campfire/workbench/reloading deals? I know there's either a workbench or a reloading bench in a lean-to type deal in town. I will have to do some research. Thanks for the reminder!

[jay-ell]

According to the Prima guide, there's a workbench in a lean-to shack near the water on the Novac side of the railroad tracks near the water tower. There's a reloading bench and another workbench in the Poseidon Gas Station, which is what I use -- it's closer to my room. There's also a cheap medic who hangs around this area, which is useful for your little rad problem. The biggest problem is that the tap water is irradiated in the room, but I keep some bottled water in the fridge.

According to the wiki,

The two closest Campfire's are located in a cave west of the water tower up on the hillside and Gibson's Shack north and a little west behind Gibson Scrap Yard.

This bed is considered "owned," so it heals you in hardcore mode and gives you the "well rested" perk -- yet another argument for making it a home base. And as far as I can tell, the containers are secure. All in all, it's not quite as convenient as the Megaton shack, but it's pretty decent to start with, and depending what you decide to do when you get to the Strip, even if you get another primary base camp, Novac's location makes a nice "vacation home" for those times when you just can't make it all the way back North.

[jay-ell]

Also, were you aware that you can have 2 companions at a time if one of them is a *****?

Just sayin'.