Follow TV Tropes

Following

Fallout: New Vegas

Go To

Balmung Since: Oct, 2011
#38801: May 11th 2019 at 7:36:00 PM

Thanks to Steam Proton, I can play FNV without a separate install of Steam. Still a few problems, though, like that Linux is case-sensitive and Windows isn't, which plays merry hell with mods (eg. I can't put more than one weapon mod on the M37 Ithaca), and there's an issue with, I think it's HDR, that causes the GUI (and my hair) to sometime cut out at certain angles in certain areas.

The same issue seemed to make VATS give 0% hit chance on everything, but restarting with HDR off gives me regular hit chances.

Fuckin' weird if a graphics setting also affects gameplay like that.

Edited by Balmung on May 11th 2019 at 9:38:25 AM

Balmung Since: Oct, 2011
#38802: May 12th 2019 at 2:02:59 AM

Something helpful to keep in mind if you have trouble with Cazadores - your baseline poison resistance is equal to (Endurance-1)*5. This means that with 10 Endurance, you have 45% poison resistance. The various gecko-backed leather armors add 15%, and one of the perks from Honest Hearts adds 25%. This means that once you hit level 8, you can have 85% poison resistance.

With higher-level content (Lonesome Road (Independent Courier Duster is worth 30% poison resistance) or Old World Blues (one heart perk is worth 50% poison resistance, and the other is total immunity)), becoming fully immune to Cazador venom becomes very easy.


Started Lonesome Road at level 8 because I'm reckless and really want to get that Independent Duster and that's easier before I have any faction reputation with anyone.

It's a great way to get powerful weapons and armor early - I already got an Assault Carbine, Sniper Rifle, Red Glare, SMMG, Arc Welder, Riot Gear, Hunting Shotgun.

On the other hand, I don't remember Tunnelers being this much of damage sponges, but I'm making do.

Edited by Balmung on May 12th 2019 at 3:45:43 AM

TamH70 Since: Nov, 2011 Relationship Status: Faithful to 2D
#38803: May 14th 2019 at 10:51:26 AM

Finished Lonesome Road yesterday - went in at level 3, came out at level 10. I was helped in that endeavour with copious amounts of mods, but it still wasn't easy. And I've still not got the Warhead Hunter cheevo, dammit.

Plus point is that I got the Vault 21, or Blackjack, Duster at long last.

Rationalinsanity from Halifax, Canada Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
#38804: May 14th 2019 at 10:55:25 AM

My only big disappointment with my last run is that Lonesome Road assumed I was on an NCR run (due to Idolized rep with them), despite having already locked in House.

Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.
Balmung Since: Oct, 2011
#38805: May 14th 2019 at 7:11:55 PM

[up][up]The only warheads I had to go out of my way for were one in the High Road (near the Marked Men camp with the broken crane) and the Courier's Mile. In particular, the higher up one was a bitch and a half to find.

Also, keep in mind that I went at this with a lot fewer mods than you. Only the full WMX set, an M37 Ithaca that crashes the game if I try to apply more than one of its three mods (so of course, I took the damage boost, though the Hunting Shotgun is eventually going to completely replace it), a Mateba Unica 6, and I'm not entirely sure which mod gave me the "bullpup sniper rifle" (WA2000), and More Perks + Traits.

The latter also meant that the moment I left the divide, an assassin team tried to kill me, which was neat because they very helpfully delivered me their gear.

At some point, I'm gonna install some Dead Money tweaks like doubling the time before collars go bang.

For the first time, I remembered to not rescue Raul until after fixing Rhonda, so that's neat.

Long term, on one hand, nobody should be trusted with the power of the securtron army, but something needs to be able to keep the Tunnelers from swarming the Mojave and keep the NCR from getting funny ideas. If Yes Man's post-game upgrade is legit, he's probably the only one who could be trusted to only use the securitrons thusly and not for their own gain, or let control fall to someone who would do so.

Side note, do you still have a link to Nordic Arms?


[up]Naturally, there is a mod for that.

Edited by Balmung on May 14th 2019 at 9:12:36 AM

TamH70 Since: Nov, 2011 Relationship Status: Faithful to 2D
#38806: May 14th 2019 at 9:30:25 PM

[up]Nordic Firearms you say? Of course. I think.

Yeah, it's still on Fileplanet, for some odd reason. Downloading a spare copy now.

https://www.fileplanet.com/archive/p-59096/Fallout-New-Vegas-Nordic-Firearms-Mod

I'd get it now if I were you, I'm surprised that the site still exists.

Edited by TamH70 on May 14th 2019 at 5:30:45 PM

Balmung Since: Oct, 2011
TamH70 Since: Nov, 2011 Relationship Status: Faithful to 2D
#38808: May 15th 2019 at 8:47:27 AM

[up]No probs. I owed you for the heads-up on the location of the warheads in the Courier's Mile. Which, having blown them the hell up, netted me another long-overdue achievement, "Warhead Hunter".

Balmung Since: Oct, 2011
#38809: May 15th 2019 at 6:57:22 PM

You want an amazing Guide Dang It!? Apparently the Heave Ho! perk doesn't just boost how far you physically toss grenades and spears, it also does the same for all arcing projectiles, including the Fat Man, Grenade Rifle, Grenade Launcher, Grenade Machine Gun, 25mm Grenade APW, Mercy, Esther, and whatever wacky grenade launching devices you might mod in.

TamH70 Since: Nov, 2011 Relationship Status: Faithful to 2D
#38810: May 16th 2019 at 8:50:47 AM

[up] Wait, what?

I'm going to try that out. With a Grenade Machinegun at Deathclaw Promontory. [lol]

Balmung Since: Oct, 2011
#38811: May 21st 2019 at 4:51:07 PM

An interesting point I saw raised about Ulysses is that, for all of his complaints about the unintented effects of the Courier's careless actions, literally all of the other DLC and the conclusion to Lonesome Road is the Courier dealing with the unintented consequences of Ulysses's careless actions.

In acts he remembers little more than the Courier remembers the delivery of that fateful package to the Divide (which really doesn't look like it was ever anything more special than the dozens of other medium communities that dot(ted) the wastes), Ulysses kicked off the events of Honest Hearts, Dead Money, and especially Old World Blues. Dead Money, however, as the least direct is probably the strongest parallel - Ulysses almost certainly has no idea how close his actions at the Big Empty came to bringing a new apocalypse to the Mojave, but without his actions, Elijah wouldn't have been able to escape or stage his heist at the Sierra Madre.

VeryMelon Since: Jul, 2011 Relationship Status: Anime is my true love
#38812: May 21st 2019 at 5:11:44 PM

Ulysses is interesting like that. A lot of his character is spent on finding meaning in action and consequence, but it ironically blinds himself to his own when he wants to be correct about his interpretations.

Balmung Since: Oct, 2011
#38813: May 21st 2019 at 5:16:43 PM

Not just that, but with symbols. He gets so tied up in one, usually pre-war interpretation, then acts indignant that people could find new meaning in old symbols.

Hell, speaking of one of the biggest symbolic motifs of the game, the Bear and the Bull, is open to two very different interpretations. The stock market analogy says the Bear is in decay, while the Bull is on the rise. On the other hand, apparently bear and bull fights were a real thing, especially in 19th century California and Nevada, and in that context, it says the Bear is the stronger one (the bear usually won).

And in context, it's arguable that both apply - even in decline, the NCR is generally considered to be in a stronger position than the Legion and most observers favor the guys who are dug in and have widespread semi-auto and fully auto guns and explosives over the guys charging headlong into said positions with knives, spears, and a smattering of lever-action guns.

Edited by Balmung on May 21st 2019 at 7:30:38 AM

Lavaeolus Since: Jan, 2015
#38814: May 21st 2019 at 6:21:24 PM

Wasn't familiar with California bull/bear fighting. An interesting, if somewhat disturbing, bit of history to look into.

deludedmusings Since: Jan, 2017 Relationship Status: Above such petty unnecessities
#38815: May 21st 2019 at 6:23:29 PM

Ulysses is a strong character, I think Avellone did a better job of writing him than Kreia, in terms of voicing discontent with the Fallout universe without veering completely into Hate Fic territory.

Unsung it's a living from a tenement of clay Since: Jun, 2016
it's a living
#38816: May 21st 2019 at 6:44:31 PM

He's said as much himself. I do like Kreia a lot, I'm that guy, but he's said that he wanted to tone her down and give the player more chances to fire back at her diatribes and just generally prove her wrong in-game, etc, but the game was Christmas Rushed and the ending was one of the worst-hit portions as far as being unfinished. And you know the rest.

The meta-critique of Fallout becoming increasingly allegorical is interesting. As much as I do like the base game, I sometimes think about what could have been if we got a whole game's worth of Dead Money, Old World Blues, and Ulysses and Joshua Graham as companions. I suppose that would've been Van Buren.

I don't think it could have been nonlinear in the same way, and that would have been a shame. On the other hand, party dynamics have always been my favourite thing about these games.

Edited by Unsung on May 21st 2019 at 9:22:33 AM

M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#38817: May 21st 2019 at 8:14:27 PM

Ulysses is the kind of person who reacts to trauma by insisting that it had to have happened for a reason. That it couldn't have just been a senseless tragedy.

Reminds me of that one guy in the Mass Effect series who tried to restart the same horrifying experiments on children that he was a victim of in his youth (along with Jack) because he believed that the project had to have had a good reason. Otherwise he would have to admit that the suffering he endured had no deeper meaning.

I'm also reminded of the Idea of Evil from Berserk, which exists because people subconsciously wish there was a reason for their suffering.

Disgusted, but not surprised
TamH70 Since: Nov, 2011 Relationship Status: Faithful to 2D
#38818: May 22nd 2019 at 1:19:48 AM

Finished Old World Blues, left the Think Tank and Doctor Mobius alive, it seemed rude not to. Hoovered up a vast amount of loot and junk, which I carried back to the Mojave and put into storage for later.

Oh, and I let my Brain have a holiday of an extended nature, for once. I usually re-unite with it, but it has several valid points as to how idiotic the Courier usually is. [lol]

I started up Honest Hearts, and kept on until I met up with Joshua Graham, then saved and quit the game because I'm off to see either Detective Pikachu or John Wick Chapter 3 at the cinema.

Balmung Since: Oct, 2011
#38819: May 22nd 2019 at 2:50:58 AM

Going into Dead Money with three major mods in tow - The first is the "Annoyance Reducer", which reduces cloud damage (which, given my maxed out END score and implants, probably isn't that big of a deal) EDIT: not directly, though - it makes Dean's Unclean Living perk stick around nonstop after you get him so that its damage reduction is permanent, and more importantly, doubles the time until the collar makes your head go boom. The second is a diversifier for the ammo codes for the vending machines, making them able to yield everything except .45 and Rocket ammo because those are from other DLC. The third isn't Dead Money specific, but a mod that makes shotgun traps actually yield a single shotgun, which is quite a valuable weapon in Dead Money.


LOL, Boone is immune to knockout gas. Big narm moment.


Going pretty well so far. Surprised how easily I got some bitchin' sweet armor and enough Police Pistols to easily repair one to max. Still incredibly underwhelmed by the Holorifle - its stats say it should be great, but it never feels like it's performing great when I actually use it.

Edited by Balmung on May 22nd 2019 at 7:06:20 AM

FGHIK from right behind you Since: Aug, 2013 Relationship Status: Gonna take a lot to drag me away from you
#38820: May 22nd 2019 at 7:12:20 AM

Yeah, something to make the radios easier is a great idea. I disabled them entirely they were so infuriating.

I missed the part where that's my problem.
Protagonist506 from Oregon Since: Dec, 2013 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
#38821: May 22nd 2019 at 9:14:35 AM

I love the idea of Survival Horror Fallout and the core concept of Dead Money is pretty cool. However, it has a lot of elements that are a pain in the ass to deal with that come across as borderline Fake Difficulty. Some thoughts in general:

-I actually don't directly mind it taking away the player's weapons. I think DL Cs taking away your equipment really helps capture the fact that you're in an unfamiliar environment, and forces you to at least try the DLC weapons out. It's a good pace-changer. My actual problem is that it never sees fit to give you back your equipment during the adventure itself. Admittedly it wouldn't fit the tone to let the player bring BF Gs into the Casino, but I think if it was half-way through the DLC it wouldn't matter. Besides, there are ways around this problem and the game already employs many of them-there are plenty of challenges that can't be beaten through brute force (I'll get to those later).

-A related problem is that there aren't any weapons in the DLC itself that feel like something I'd use outside the DLC. The only exception is the Holorifle. It isn't a must-have, though I do like it. The site I think is the best part. It puts a creepy filter over things you're looking at, and makes the game slightly spooky even when used in non-horror sections (I recall firing the weapon at Zion tribals and realizing how spooky it made everything look). This is actually how I'd solve the aforementioned BFG issue: I'd make the enemies very tough, and put weapons that hit hard but nonetheless had drawbacks that encouraged the player to treat it like a survival horror game. For example, a gun that fires very rare exploding bullets, or a weapon with a spooky site that can only be fired while in the site.

-A lot of the game's non-combat challenges are kind of lame. The fog and radios are annoying, but not too bad IMO. I find the justification of the radios kind of weak. Elijah's a bad boss to be sure, but the bomb collar's weakness to radios seems like such a severe design flaw that he comes across as incredibly Stupid Evil for using them. The more conventional traps like the shotgun tripwire and the mines are always infuriating to me, but to be fair they are from the main game (they're infuriating in the main game, too). My least favorite, though, has got to be the holograms. Invincible enemies always feels like cheating to me.

"Any campaign world where an orc samurai can leap off a landcruiser to fight a herd of Bulbasaurs will always have my vote of confidence"
Balmung Since: Oct, 2011
#38822: May 22nd 2019 at 12:30:37 PM

weapons that hit hard but nonetheless had drawbacks

You mean like the Automatic Rifle, which has very high per-shot damage and DPS, but is highly inaccurate and uses scarce (in the context of the DLC) .308 ammo?

Also, Dead Money has a really weird mix of being incredibly stingy and incredibly generous. Like, in 15 minutes, you can easily have some of the best armor in the entire game and rock up to 30 DT before even finding the upgraded security armor (16 from basic security armor + 2 from implant + 3 from the collar + 6 from 2 levels of toughness + 3 from the security helmet), and in that time, you can also have two very good guns (police pistol and automatic rifle), three if the Holorifle actually seems to work for you, and very good melee and unarmed weapons in the knife spear and bear trap fist. At the same time, good fucking luck with healing or ammo for anything but the police pistol.

Without the survival horror elements, Dead Money would practically be a Monty Haul campaign.

Protagonist506 from Oregon Since: Dec, 2013 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
#38823: May 22nd 2019 at 1:28:17 PM

Is the Police Pistol good? I suppose part of the problem is that it looks like a fairly generic revolver you'd find in the base game. I forgot about the automatic rifle, that weapon actually is kind of good if I recall.

"Any campaign world where an orc samurai can leap off a landcruiser to fight a herd of Bulbasaurs will always have my vote of confidence"
Unsung it's a living from a tenement of clay Since: Jun, 2016
it's a living
#38824: May 22nd 2019 at 1:29:28 PM

^ The police pistol reloads a lot faster, has much higher crit damage, and costs less AP, IIRC. So faster with more payoff for luck. Which is good, for a weapon in a survival horror campaign that's meant to be reliable but disposable.

^^ Well, it is kind of a Monty Haul campaign, deliberately. In-Universe, really. Given the story it's based on, there has to be enough treasure there to satisfy any kind of greed, and enough pain involved in getting it to make you wonder whether it was all worth it.

I kind of like the shortsightedness of the collars, and the mechanic involved in deactivating the radios. I think the level design on them could have been better, they make a better puzzle mechanic than they do a ubiquitous environment element, but the concept is interesting. It'd almost be better if either the bomb collars, or more likely the radio signals, were something new, and that was why Elijah was having so much trouble with them. Like something Dean figured out in order to further rig the odds in his favour.

Really that's true of a lot of design elements in the game. Cool concepts, but a little half-baked execution-wise — dismembering Ghost People with the game's spotty hit mechanics is never going to be as satisfying as precisely cutting limbs off of a necromorph. I understand why a lot of people wouldn't want to replay it, but I do like the atmosphere and characters.

I kind of don't care enough about big guns to miss them, but it could have been interesting to finish off the DLC with one big multi-stage RE-style arena boss fight with Elijah, possibly Dog if you turned him against you, a bunch of holograms and turrets, and a big Contra-esque central reactor/boss wall or whatever.

Edited by Unsung on May 26th 2019 at 5:24:00 AM

Protagonist506 from Oregon Since: Dec, 2013 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
#38825: May 22nd 2019 at 1:32:48 PM

One thing I forgot to mention is that you can't ever return to the Sierra Madre, which is perhaps a shame. I think it could have made a decent home base for some people. Admittedly, it's not my style, but I'd like the option.

"Any campaign world where an orc samurai can leap off a landcruiser to fight a herd of Bulbasaurs will always have my vote of confidence"

Total posts: 41,540
Top