- Joined
- May 3, 2015
I believe it's just an urban legend.
Let's Sperg Fallout 2 LP, anybody?
- Thread starter Sanshain
- Start date
I believe it's just an urban legend.
- Joined
- Feb 3, 2013
Considering one has mentioned growing an extra limb and then losing it, here is one suggestion: go to New Reno, become a boxer, and fight all the way to the Masticator. Have the fight drag on long enough that your opponent bites your ear off.
- Joined
- Mar 14, 2015
You should play as a total weakling who miraculously survives. Low intelligence, low strength, low endurance etc and then super high luck.
- Joined
- Oct 8, 2013
- Joined
- Aug 31, 2015
I'm all for a forum Fallout 2 LP, even tried a few on other forums back in the day. (Hopefully your's turns out better than my aborted playthroughs.) Also going to chime in with the chorus and ask that you play the most exceptional individual to ever be exceptional.
- Joined
- Apr 15, 2014
- Joined
- May 3, 2015
Sorry for the lack of updates regarding this. I've been distracted by seasonal stuff. I'll be getting something up tonight.
Edit: I'm thinking of using Gyazo for quick uploads. Has anybody with a bit more experience than me got any other recommendations, though?
Edit 2: Apparently Gyazo doesn't work for F2. Bah.
Edit: I'm thinking of using Gyazo for quick uploads. Has anybody with a bit more experience than me got any other recommendations, though?
Edit 2: Apparently Gyazo doesn't work for F2. Bah.
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- Joined
- May 3, 2015
Sorry for the double-post, but I've been astonishingly bored the last few hours, so I thought I'd put together a little demonstration of the character screen for anybody who hasn't played the original Fallout titles. This ought to help some people decide what they'd like me to see in terms of character design and build.
This is the main character screen of Fallout 2. It has a really nice visual aesthetic, similar to a DOS interface in many ways. I don't think any of the 3D Fallout games quite managed to recapture the 'retro-futuristic' aesthetic of the originals, and the neon green text has a timeless charm all of its own.
While it can seem a bit overwhelming to a newcomer, the Fallout character sheet isn't all that complex. You've got your S.P.E.C.I.A.L counter along the upper left corner, your skill percentages directly opposite on the left, your general statistics in the middle-left, traits in the lower-left, and everything else basically explains itself.
The 'Style' and 'Race' buttons are additions of the Fallout 2 Restoration Project mod. They just give you some very simple character customization options - a few hairstyles and skin changes.
Those of you who have played any of the 3D Fallout games may be mislead somewhat by the skills menu. Unlike the 3D games, Fallout 2 has skill percentages rather than points, and any skill points you put into a skill increases it by a certain percentage value. Tagged skills gain a one-time bonus and halve the number of skill points you need to invest to increase their percentage values. It's a little convoluted in my opinion, but it works.
The skills we have available to us in Fallout 2 also work quite a bit differently that in the 3D games, so I'll go through them one-by-one and explain their usages in detail.
Traits are another way of customizing your character, but much like in New Vegas, most of them aren't all that useful. Throughout it's history, Fallout has always had a bit of a balance issue with traits; they're either mediocre, situational or completely game-breaking.
This is the main character screen of Fallout 2. It has a really nice visual aesthetic, similar to a DOS interface in many ways. I don't think any of the 3D Fallout games quite managed to recapture the 'retro-futuristic' aesthetic of the originals, and the neon green text has a timeless charm all of its own.
While it can seem a bit overwhelming to a newcomer, the Fallout character sheet isn't all that complex. You've got your S.P.E.C.I.A.L counter along the upper left corner, your skill percentages directly opposite on the left, your general statistics in the middle-left, traits in the lower-left, and everything else basically explains itself.
The 'Style' and 'Race' buttons are additions of the Fallout 2 Restoration Project mod. They just give you some very simple character customization options - a few hairstyles and skin changes.
Those of you who have played any of the 3D Fallout games may be mislead somewhat by the skills menu. Unlike the 3D games, Fallout 2 has skill percentages rather than points, and any skill points you put into a skill increases it by a certain percentage value. Tagged skills gain a one-time bonus and halve the number of skill points you need to invest to increase their percentage values. It's a little convoluted in my opinion, but it works.
The skills we have available to us in Fallout 2 also work quite a bit differently that in the 3D games, so I'll go through them one-by-one and explain their usages in detail.
Small Guns: How good we are with the most common type of gun in the game. Anything that isn't a machine-gun, rotary-barreled mini-gun or some kind of laser weapon is a small gun. Fallout 1 had an issue wherein Small Guns became horribly outclassed towards the last third of the game, but Fallout 2 compensates by having Small Guns scale with their more powerful counterparts right up to the endgame.
Big Guns: Very large guns like machine guns and rotary mini-guns all need the Big Guns skill in order to be used properly. In my experience, Big Guns are situational weapons that lack the ammo to be used against regular foes and are outclassed against serious threats by energy weapons and critically-focused small guns builds.
Energy Weapons: The most powerful weapons in the game are energy-based. The first decent energy weapon is encountered a good way through the main game, so this skill is completely useless for a long time. That said, plasma weapons deal monstrous damage and are the best option for builds that don't focus on causing critical hits.
Unarmed: Punching things, basically. Great in the early-game, mediocre in the late-game. There isn't much to say here.
Melee Weapons: Smacking dudes with hammers. Again; great in the early-game, but only an average choice in the late-game. That said, super sledgehammers are surprisingly effective against power armor.
Throwing: Throwing is useless; thrown weapons deal poor damage, don't scale well and are situational as hell.
First Aid: Stimpaks are plentiful and reliable, while first aid kits are very rare. This skill is essentially worthless.
Doctor: Superior to first-aid in every way, the Doctor skill is still almost useless as a gameplay element, but has a decent number of uses in encounters and quests that make it a good secondary investment.
Sneak: Good for roleplaying purposes, but I've never, ever used it. This game already gives you a ton of options to complete quests, and sneaking through them is almost always the sub-optimal solution. Plus if you need it, you can just spam quick-load whenever you fail a roll.
Lockpick: Unlike Sneak, this skill is almost essential. While there aren't that many locked doors in this game, this skill will let you access better rewards and a lot of optional goodies you'd otherwise be unable to get to.
Traps: Another useless skill. There are almost no lethal traps in this game, and the few that exist don't need much investment in order to disarm.
Science: Almost identical to Doctor in terms of applicability, though slightly more useful. A lot of quests involving high-tech items turn out much better if you have a decent amount of this skill.
Repair: Another roleplaying skill, much like Science and Doctor. Of the three, I'd say that it is less useful than Science. A lot of items that have Repair options also have Science options that accomplish the same thing. There is no item durability in F2, FYI.
Speech: THIS IS ABSOLUTELY THE MOST VALUABLE SKILL IN THE GAME, BAR NONE. If you want to get anything worthwhile done in the Wasteland, this skill will help you out. Having a high Speech means everything goes better for you, and is necessary for unlocking the best rewards and outcomes in most quests.
Barter: Yet another useless skill. Anything worthwhile in the wasteland can be scavenged, and there exist tons of ways to make enough money to break the economy even before factoring in glitches. The only discount in the Fallout world should be of the ballistic variety.
Gambling: Next.
Outdoorsman: Decently useful for avoiding nasty random encounters, finding unique encounters and just generally making your travel time between cities more bearable. There's no point increasing it past 100% or so, in my experience.
Big Guns: Very large guns like machine guns and rotary mini-guns all need the Big Guns skill in order to be used properly. In my experience, Big Guns are situational weapons that lack the ammo to be used against regular foes and are outclassed against serious threats by energy weapons and critically-focused small guns builds.
Energy Weapons: The most powerful weapons in the game are energy-based. The first decent energy weapon is encountered a good way through the main game, so this skill is completely useless for a long time. That said, plasma weapons deal monstrous damage and are the best option for builds that don't focus on causing critical hits.
Unarmed: Punching things, basically. Great in the early-game, mediocre in the late-game. There isn't much to say here.
Melee Weapons: Smacking dudes with hammers. Again; great in the early-game, but only an average choice in the late-game. That said, super sledgehammers are surprisingly effective against power armor.
Throwing: Throwing is useless; thrown weapons deal poor damage, don't scale well and are situational as hell.
First Aid: Stimpaks are plentiful and reliable, while first aid kits are very rare. This skill is essentially worthless.
Doctor: Superior to first-aid in every way, the Doctor skill is still almost useless as a gameplay element, but has a decent number of uses in encounters and quests that make it a good secondary investment.
Sneak: Good for roleplaying purposes, but I've never, ever used it. This game already gives you a ton of options to complete quests, and sneaking through them is almost always the sub-optimal solution. Plus if you need it, you can just spam quick-load whenever you fail a roll.
Lockpick: Unlike Sneak, this skill is almost essential. While there aren't that many locked doors in this game, this skill will let you access better rewards and a lot of optional goodies you'd otherwise be unable to get to.
Traps: Another useless skill. There are almost no lethal traps in this game, and the few that exist don't need much investment in order to disarm.
Science: Almost identical to Doctor in terms of applicability, though slightly more useful. A lot of quests involving high-tech items turn out much better if you have a decent amount of this skill.
Repair: Another roleplaying skill, much like Science and Doctor. Of the three, I'd say that it is less useful than Science. A lot of items that have Repair options also have Science options that accomplish the same thing. There is no item durability in F2, FYI.
Speech: THIS IS ABSOLUTELY THE MOST VALUABLE SKILL IN THE GAME, BAR NONE. If you want to get anything worthwhile done in the Wasteland, this skill will help you out. Having a high Speech means everything goes better for you, and is necessary for unlocking the best rewards and outcomes in most quests.
Barter: Yet another useless skill. Anything worthwhile in the wasteland can be scavenged, and there exist tons of ways to make enough money to break the economy even before factoring in glitches. The only discount in the Fallout world should be of the ballistic variety.
Gambling: Next.
Outdoorsman: Decently useful for avoiding nasty random encounters, finding unique encounters and just generally making your travel time between cities more bearable. There's no point increasing it past 100% or so, in my experience.
Traits are another way of customizing your character, but much like in New Vegas, most of them aren't all that useful. Throughout it's history, Fallout has always had a bit of a balance issue with traits; they're either mediocre, situational or completely game-breaking.
Fast Metabolism: You heal a little faster when resting or traveling, but your poison and radiation resistance starts at 0%. Given that there's no time limit in the game and stimpaks are everywhere, this is a useless trait.
Bruiser: You gain +2 Strength but have -2 Action Points. This is a dreadful trait; the bonus doesn't even come close to balancing out the loss of vital AP.
Small Frame: You gain +1 Agility, but your maximum carry weight is halved. This is an okay trait; extra AP is always nice, and there are plenty of strong companions that you can use as pack-mules.
One Hander: +20% hit chance with single-handed weapons, -40% hit chance with two-handed weapons. Another dreadful trait; by mid-game you've have a high enough accuracy rating that the bonus offered by this trait will be negligible, while the penalty is high enough to be a hindrance long afterwards. It doesn't help that the best weapons in the game are two-handed.
Finesse: +10% Critical Chance, -30% Overall Damage. Another okay trait. Redundant if you intend to go for a certain trait or already have very high Luck, but since critical hits can kill enemies even if they deal zero damage, it averages out.
Kamikaze: Your combat sequence (how soon into a turn you act) is much higher, but you have 0 base AC. Eh, I've honestly never noticed much a difference from having their trait, so it's firmly on the mediocre end of the scale.
Heavy Handed: You deal +4 Melee Damage but have a -30% Modifier on the critical hit table (basically your critical hits will be weaker). The bonus doesn't offset the penalty. Pass.
Fast Shot: All weapons cost -1 AP to wield, but you can't make targeted shots. Some people love this trait, but others hate it. It can be game-breaking when combined with high Luck and an automatic weapon, but is otherwise merely decent.
Bloody Mess: No gameplay effect, but you always experience the most violent death animations. I love this trait. Poke a super-mutant in the groin with your fist? He explodes. Stab a bandit with a pointy stick? He hasn't got a torso anymore. I generally save-edit this trait to all my characters even if I didn't take it at character generation, since it's hilarious.
Jinxed: Massively increases the chance that any failed attack roll on your part or on the part of your enemies will result in a critical failure. This is another hilarious trait, and frequently results in your enemies dying from having their own weapons blow up in their hands when they try and shoot at you.
Good Natured: +15% to Doctor, First Aid, Speech & Barter. -10% to Big Guns, Small Guns, Energy Weapons, Throwing, Melee Weapons, and Unarmed. This trait makes you better at interacting with people in a manner that doesn't involve killing them, and is therefore about average.
Chem Reliant: Your withdrawal times for tripping on chems are halved, but you are twice as likely to get addicted to them. Oh look, a trait that is rendered totally useless by the 'reload game' function.
Chem Resistant: The reverse of the above. Just as pointless.
Sex Appeal: +10% to Speech checks made with characters of the opposite sex, -10% to Speech checks made with characters of the same sex. Fairly boring, really.
Skilled: +5 Skill Points per level, -1 Perk Rate. AHHHH, DEAR GOD DO NOT PICK THIS TRAIT IT IS LITERALLY AIDS.
Gifted: +1 to ALL S.P.E.C.I.A.L stats, but -10% to all skills and -5 less Skill Points per level. This trait is a gamebreaker. It's literally the Mage option from Dragon Age 1 in terms of the affect it has on overall difficulty. I don't know what the hell the developers were smoking when they thought up this trait, but it had to be pretty damn strong.
Bruiser: You gain +2 Strength but have -2 Action Points. This is a dreadful trait; the bonus doesn't even come close to balancing out the loss of vital AP.
Small Frame: You gain +1 Agility, but your maximum carry weight is halved. This is an okay trait; extra AP is always nice, and there are plenty of strong companions that you can use as pack-mules.
One Hander: +20% hit chance with single-handed weapons, -40% hit chance with two-handed weapons. Another dreadful trait; by mid-game you've have a high enough accuracy rating that the bonus offered by this trait will be negligible, while the penalty is high enough to be a hindrance long afterwards. It doesn't help that the best weapons in the game are two-handed.
Finesse: +10% Critical Chance, -30% Overall Damage. Another okay trait. Redundant if you intend to go for a certain trait or already have very high Luck, but since critical hits can kill enemies even if they deal zero damage, it averages out.
Kamikaze: Your combat sequence (how soon into a turn you act) is much higher, but you have 0 base AC. Eh, I've honestly never noticed much a difference from having their trait, so it's firmly on the mediocre end of the scale.
Heavy Handed: You deal +4 Melee Damage but have a -30% Modifier on the critical hit table (basically your critical hits will be weaker). The bonus doesn't offset the penalty. Pass.
Fast Shot: All weapons cost -1 AP to wield, but you can't make targeted shots. Some people love this trait, but others hate it. It can be game-breaking when combined with high Luck and an automatic weapon, but is otherwise merely decent.
Bloody Mess: No gameplay effect, but you always experience the most violent death animations. I love this trait. Poke a super-mutant in the groin with your fist? He explodes. Stab a bandit with a pointy stick? He hasn't got a torso anymore. I generally save-edit this trait to all my characters even if I didn't take it at character generation, since it's hilarious.
Jinxed: Massively increases the chance that any failed attack roll on your part or on the part of your enemies will result in a critical failure. This is another hilarious trait, and frequently results in your enemies dying from having their own weapons blow up in their hands when they try and shoot at you.
Good Natured: +15% to Doctor, First Aid, Speech & Barter. -10% to Big Guns, Small Guns, Energy Weapons, Throwing, Melee Weapons, and Unarmed. This trait makes you better at interacting with people in a manner that doesn't involve killing them, and is therefore about average.
Chem Reliant: Your withdrawal times for tripping on chems are halved, but you are twice as likely to get addicted to them. Oh look, a trait that is rendered totally useless by the 'reload game' function.
Chem Resistant: The reverse of the above. Just as pointless.
Sex Appeal: +10% to Speech checks made with characters of the opposite sex, -10% to Speech checks made with characters of the same sex. Fairly boring, really.
Skilled: +5 Skill Points per level, -1 Perk Rate. AHHHH, DEAR GOD DO NOT PICK THIS TRAIT IT IS LITERALLY AIDS.
Gifted: +1 to ALL S.P.E.C.I.A.L stats, but -10% to all skills and -5 less Skill Points per level. This trait is a gamebreaker. It's literally the Mage option from Dragon Age 1 in terms of the affect it has on overall difficulty. I don't know what the hell the developers were smoking when they thought up this trait, but it had to be pretty damn strong.
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- Joined
- Apr 15, 2014
You mentioned "Save editing?". Is that something where you can edit your guy's stats after character creation or something? Because if so, I have an idea that could be entertaining.
- Joined
- May 3, 2015
Yeah, I have a full character editor that I've used in the past. I've done a fair amount of general screwing around with the game in my time playing it.
- Joined
- Apr 15, 2014
Okay my idea: Perma-death (At least in the "narrative")
Make a character, go through the game, and so on. But if that character dies, you reload and then use the editor to make an entirely new character, with the justification that the village elders, upon hearing of The Chosen One's demise, picked some random shmuck and declared them the new Chose One. And promptly sent them out into the wastes.
Having a string of radically different characters following each others trails could make for an entertaining play through.
- Joined
- May 3, 2015
It might, and I could certainly get behind the idea. Though a problem might arise wherein dying past a certain stage would mean a new character being basically starved of opportunities to earn money and XP.
- Joined
- Apr 15, 2014
True, but you could make excuses to have a leveled up character taking up the title of Chosen One. For example, a random mercenary or raider picking up the Pipboy off of the Chosen One's skeletal remains, and coming to believe that it's a sigh that they need to go out and finish his work.
- Joined
- Jan 22, 2016
It had a bit of a learning curve for me but once I got over that it was fantastic. Absolutely worth a try. The charm and wit have been with the series since the beginning.