GeekNights 090113 - Fallout 3

Apreche

Tonight on GeekNights we review Fallout 3. In the news, UNIQLO is going to have some cool videogame t-shirts, and we have details about Fallout 3 downloadable expansions.

Scott's Thing - Rockman Neta
Rym's Thing - Temp Fortress 2

Loganator456

Has anyone else noticed that the latest 2 episodes skip at a couple of points? Quite a few, actually. I've listened to both the downloaded version and the directly-linked mp3, and they both do this.

Robinmack

I played Fallout 3 until the ending, it felt lonely.

Nine Boomer

Has anyone else noticed that the latest 2 episodes skip at a couple of points? Quite a few, actually. I've listened to both the downloaded version and the directly-linked mp3, and they both do this.

Yeah, I definitely noticed a bit of skipping on the episode before, although I still haven't listened to this one.

HMTKSteve

The Fallout3 patch came out yesterday. I had no problems until now.

omegafinal

While listening to the part about downloadable content, I wonder if we could apply it to episodic content in a similar way.

Apreche

While listening to the part about downloadable content, I wonder if we could apply it to episodic content in a similar way.

Aren't they really just the same thing?

omegafinal

Technically, yes. but I've always thought about DLC as something small and stupid like the horse armor in Oblivion, or a harder difficulty setting in Megaman 9, something so minute that it should have been included from the beginning, instead of being left out and taken ransom for. Fallout 3's DLC on the other hand feels more like a small expansion pack, especially for Broken Steel for going past the storyline. I still think that the Sam and Max series shows great use of the episodic format. I'm not that familiar with the .hack series, but I felt that they split the games into multiple parts just because they can.

Neito

I'm not that familiar with the .hack series, but I felt that they split the games into multiple parts just because they can.

Imagine a 10 hour game split across 4 discs. That's .hack.

Omnutia

Isn't episodic stuff just a sub section of DLC?

Kiey

I do feel like you guys were asking too much of the game, in that what you want isn't feasible (too much time, too much money to do it.)

Also I don't agree with you about not having an effect on the world, yes you don't have a great effect on the world as a whole, but I think that was a design decision. I think the game really isn't about big changes, its about the little ones. It's about the people you meet and their stories, and you doing something to change their lives for better or worse. So that you might not have a significant effect on the world, but you do in the "lives" of the people you encounter.

Rym

yes you don't have a great effect on the world as a whole, but I think that was a design decision.

I just felt like very little that I did really mattered. The world was too static for me to have any real empathy for the characters: their lives switched from cookie-cutter-state-one to either cookie-cutter-good-ending or cookie-cutter-bad-ending. It all just felt very hacked together and simplistic.

I do feel like you guys were asking too much of the game, in that what you want isn't feasible

This is why I tend to dislike many games like this: I want more than they currently have to offer, and am not excited or stimulated too much by current incarnations. My interest in Fallout 3 was immense, and dropped off steadily as I played. Exploring became less fun as the scenery began to look more and more the same, less and less interactive.

HMTKSteve

Have you downloaded the GECK yet?

There are several sites out there that host user-made mods for Fallout 3. Once you get past the "oh mans, look at the tits on that raider" mods you will find some real cool minor tweak mods. I found a cool one that reskins Bittercup to look like a goth girl (better fits her dialogue). Other mods reskin weapons or add new areas to the game.

The mod community around Oblivion is still active and I expect the one around Fallout 3 to remain active for some time to come.

On the question of DLC, I see it as a way for the software developer to keep players from selling their games once they are played out. By the time the last piece of Fallout DLC hits the game will be about 6 moths old and not likely to pull a high rate on the used market. Couple this with the amount of money the player has spent purchasing the DLC and they will be less likely to sell the game. Don't be surprised if a "game of the year" edition that includes the DLC ends up being released this summer.

Clearly the Windows version of Fallout 3 is the way to go. Even if you prefer the Xbox controller you can purchase an adapter to use it with your Windows PC. I would not purchase the Steam version if for no other reason than I can't resell it (unless you made a new account and only used it to purchase Fallout and its DLC). By releasing the GECK so quickly after the game was released Bethesda has insured a loyal following of modders would spring up around the title and provide new content at no cost to the mass of players.

Neito

Scott;
WarioWare Smooth Moves was for the Wii. WarioWare Shake! was for the GBA.

gomidog

Rockman Neta

You picked the exact worst time to post this, because at this moment those damn Crashman etc. remixes are stuck in my head. Megaman is in greater peril than you realize! (and that's when I realized that I will never be able to look at Rockman 2 the same way again.)

omegafinal

Actually, Neito, I believe he was referring to Wario Land: Shake It! (The Shake Dimension in other countries).

nNa

What is that flash game you were talking about (it teaches you how to program, understant the logic...)?

-iNFO

Anastius

I believe they were talking about The Codex of Alchemical Engineering.

Geo

This thread will tell you all about it and how hot it was for a while.