First impressions

[PZ]

For anyone that liked FO3, you're going to love FNV.  It is really more of an extension of the prior game - the graphics are similar, as are all of the other major characteristics.  There are features that prior versions of the Fallout franchise did not have, but I've not encountered them yet.  It is interesting that there is little to no improvement in the graphics quality - if I did not know which game was being displayed, I'd not be able to distinguish the difference between FO3 and FNV. 

The music is good, and is reminiscent of FO3 - I like the overall effect.  In short, I like the game so far, just as much as FO3 which is still installed on my PC.

Here are a few screen captures of the in-game graphics.

The Pipboy has not changed significantly - the in-game map still stinks, but is marginally better than the greenish original (looks more like what the modders came up with for FO3)
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An example of the fauna
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The weapons are practically the same - I'm not fond of them and am looking forward to the modders conversions
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The newt few images are examples of new buildings
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VATS works the same as before

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A new vending machine
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One cool thing is that the highway leading to Las Vegas is authentic (you see the Interstate 15 sign) as is one of the towns south of Vegas (Primm), complete with the roller coaster.
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In short, I think the game will keep me busy for a long time, especially when I add mods.  >:D

PS: You're going to love this game, Ric - but you'll be better off with a newer PC - I get stutter once in a while, and my PC is no slouch.

[Ricamundo]

Looks good PZ! I beg to differ about your comment on the graphics. They arent green! To my tired eyes, that's a plus, right out of the box. ;D

I hope i can muddle thru the game with this PC tho, as there's no way i can replace it for a while. I'll configure it with lower testures, etc. That should help.

I'll have to scoot up to my local Future Shop, and see if its in yet. Their usless website is well, useless.

[PZ]

I didn't intend to give the impression that FNV is green (it isn't), but that the graphics quality is similar to the original - which kind of makes me feel right at home.  :-()

I think that you'll probably be fine by reducing the quality settings, and there will likely be mods that are forthcoming that will help with the speed.  The game automatically set my graphics quality to high when it assessed my PC, so I could get an improvement if I lowered the settings a bit.

Oh, one other thing I forgot to mention - the game automatically started Steam to activate the program.

Because of your fondness of FO3, I think that you're going to love this game, Ric - I can see you spending dozens of hours (maybe more).  All the characters are new, and there is lots to see and do in this RPG.

[Ricamundo]

Right you are PZ. 8) I ventured up to my local retailer and found it, took it home, and after getting past the Steam bullsh*t, it installed without a hitch.

Why is it tho, that we need to use Steam at all? I had it installed years ago to install HL2, which of course is understandable, as its a Valve product, but what does Bethesda have to do with Steam?

I have it set to offline mode, but find it a bit irritating that after i leave the game, Steam.exe is still running, so i had to kill that too. ::)


Ive just been exploring the little town i awoke in (forget the name already) and ive talked to everyone there and done a few tasks for caps. I was going to help the guy hidden in the gas station to kill his tormentors, but i need some more exp point and a level up first.

The pip boy, and many other features and objects are reassuringly familiar, even had to kill a few radscorpions and bloatflies. So far i have pretty crap weapons, and the local merchant doesnt have much in the way of weaponry, only ammo, enhanced hollowpoint bullets and a couple of addon enhancements for a 357, which are really pricey.

One thing that is rather annoying is the almost constant message to hit V to open VATS that contantly appears in the top left corner. Is there a way of turning that off, permenantly?

[PZ]

Right you are PZ. 8) I ventured up to my local retailer and found it, took it home, and after getting past the Steam bullsh*t, it installed without a hitch.

Why is it tho, that we need to use Steam at all? I had it installed years ago to install HL2, which of course is understandable, as its a Valve product, but what does Bethesda have to do with Steam? I have no idea, but almost every game that I've recently purchased is going through Steam

I have it set to offline mode, but find it a bit irritating that after i leave the game, Steam.exe is still running, so i had to kill that too. ::)


Ive just been exploring the little town i awoke in (forget the name already) and ive talked to everyone there and done a few tasks for caps. I was going to help the guy hidden in the gas station to kill his tormentors, but i need some more exp point and a level up first. Me too - we're getting old, Ric  :-()

The pip boy, and many other features and objects are reassuringly familiar, even had to kill a few radscorpions and bloatflies. So far i have pretty crap weapons, and the local merchant doesnt have much in the way of weaponry, only ammo, enhanced hollowpoint bullets and a couple of addon enhancements for a 357, which are really pricey. I haven't tried any purchases yet, but I did enter the console to activate "tgm" so that I could carry lots of loot  :-()

One thing that is rather annoying is the almost constant message to hit V to open VATS that contantly appears in the top left corner. Is there a way of turning that off, permenantly? I'm sure that there is, but I've not noticed yet - I'll check it out the next time I'm in the game.

[PZ]

I finally found my way to New Vegas, but I haven't found a way into the heart of the city yet.  I'm using one of the mods that makes the day/night cycle a bit more realistic - as I was wandering through the desolate desert on a clear night, I saw a haze of lights on the horizon.  As I approached, I saw landmarks that I instantly recognized - it instantly took me back to the times I'd spent on a dirt bike speeding through the southern California desert - a precious memory that by itself made the price of the game worthwhile.  :-X

[Art Blade]

"tgm" stands for "toggle god mode" -- which not only allows you to carry more than a caravan of 100 camels but renders you immortal, too.  ;D

[PZ]

The first thing I do is type "tgm" into the console  :-X

[Art Blade]

OH.. I had no idea  ???






;)  :-D 8-X

[PZ]

 ^+-+

[fragger]

Is FNV a standalone game? I've never played any FO games, so would I be lost if I had a go at this one?

[PZ]

I've played Fallout 3 (I assume there was a one and two), and never found myself at a disadvantage not having done the prior versions.  FNV is also stand-alone in my opinion.

I like the Fallout games because I can play through once, add mods and play through again under completely different conditions if I like.  Modders have also developed new areas and new quests so the fun can continue for a long time to come.  In fact, I still fire up FO3 on occasion, and will probably do so more now that I'm in to FNV.

[Art Blade]

fragger, I only played FO3 without any idea whatsoever about what had been going on in previous games, yet it didn't matter. As long as FNV doesn't require FO3 to be installed on your rig, you should be able to jump right into it.  :)

[PZ]

... As long as FNV doesn't require FO3 to be installed on your rig, you should be able to jump right into it.  :)

You definitely don't need to have any prior version to run FNV - I installed it on another computer that never saw FO3 (one of the good things about Steam is that you can install the games on any computer using your Steam account)  :-X

[fragger]

Thanks for the info, guys :) :-X

[PZ]

Always a pleasure to help out a fellow OWG member  :-X

[Art Blade]

Thanks for replying to that, PZ  ;D

[PZ]

 :)

[PZ]

I must be a bit slow - I just noticed today that FNV has a true iron sights mode (like all FPS games) while in order to get iron sights in FO3, you needed to install a mod which didn't w@&k all that well, and not at all when you used mod weapons.

[Art Blade]

Don't worry about being slow. It just means that reality has a fair chance to catch up with you  ;D

[JRD]

I must be a bit slow - I just noticed today that FNV has a true iron sights mode (like all FPS games) while in order to get iron sights in FO3, you needed to install a mod which didn't w@&k all that well, and not at all when you used mod weapons.

You mean that a game which basically ask you to shoot your way through quests (even if can talk your way through sometimes  ;D ) needs a mod to allow you to use iron sights?  ????

That`s ridiculous!!  >:((

[Art Blade]

there's always crosshairs, JRD, no modding needed to be able to aim

[JRD]

Yeah, but crosshair is like if you are shooting from the hip while iron sight makes it feel more realistic, badass... I don't know, you actually don't need iron sights, as you said, with crosshair, but it just don't feel right.

[Art Blade]

As long as I can shoot someone's block off, I don't care about details.  :-()

[fragger]

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