Okay guys, the aliens in Fallout were an Easter Egg…

Hardcore Fallout fandom at No Mutants Allowed cuts to the chase in showing how they really feel about the latest DLC announcement for F3.

That’s, um, pretty much how I feel about this latest announcement myself.

You can catch that and more over at No Mutants Allowed but be sure to have your flameproof waders on. The site is home to the truly hardcore Fallout fans out there as well as an impressively detailed repository of all things Fallout related which should come as no surprise. It’s a great site and a resource for all things Fallout and while I don’t entirely agree with some of their views on the franchise, Bethesda’s latest announcement of what the next two pieces of DLC are going to be like haven’t made me all too excited.

The first one is the reputed “Point Look” which had been rumored but never confirmed, until now. The only details that we have of what that one is supposed to be like is that it will take place in a swampy land with new dangers. Okay, doesn’t sound too exciting there. I never did like swamps in any game I had played, there’s just something…blah…about a swamp populated with the requisite bad guys, as if the marshy, malaria-infested humidity that they usually come with isn’t enough of a challenge. Still, I’ll likely be snagging that one up if it sounds interesting enough. It could be a swamp…with a GIANT MISSILE SILO IN THE MIDDLE OF IT FILLED WITH HALF ROBOT WAR MACHINES. Or not, I don’t know yet.

But the next one has me taking a fork to a lump of mashed potatoes and wishing that I was Richard Dreyfuss…”Mothership Zeta” will pit the player against, you guessed it, aliens. That’s right, the big eyed, ray gun toting, extraterrestrial inhabitants of outer space as opposed to the homicidal, acid spewing variety found on corporate space ships and colonies. I really don’t want to sound negative about this since on one hand, it does sound like it could be silly fun. On the other hand, it also comes off…from a veteran’s perspective…as overkill for something that started out as a random encounter in Fallouts 1 and 2. Like when the Coneheads became a movie. Augh…

Okay, maybe I’m exaggerating just a bit, but still…Fallout’s universe has its own, understated humor…always had with the first two games by picking up on a thread here and there, subtle nods to the things we take for granted today but spun to make you chuckle when you least expect it. Kung fu fight in Fallout 2? A box of water chips in the sequel mocking those of us that fought to find just one in the first game? A sadistic Secret Service supermutant?

But this? Ahh…hmmm…. Over the top, sure, but Fallout has always had something of a serious side to itself that the small pieces of random humor within its narrative had only brought out, coloring each event that it was found in and giving the player something to smile about before focusing on how they were going to tie up all of their loose ends before their home ran out of water. I took the aliens and their velvet painting of Elvis from the original series with a large amount of humor filled salt, not even considering that it might be something that could become its own campaign sometime later.

Bethesda doesn’t need to give the hardcore crowd any more ammunition than they already have collected, but even as a huge fan of the series, I don’t think the ‘canon’ really needs this ‘twist’.

Besides, the better choice would have been King Arthur and his merry band of knights. They were in Fallout 2, also, along with a lot of other geeky goodies. Guardian of Forever, anyone?

You won't 'officially' see the Guardian of Forever in Fallout 3, unless someone mods it in, because it would just be plain weird. That, and Bethesda might draw the ire of Paramount's secret army of assassin lawyers this time.

Ready for more Fallout 3 DLC? Here’s a few new pics for Broken Steel.

The Pitt wasn’t exactly the most fun that I’ve had with Fallout 3 given the technical issues riddling its broken landscape, but the upcoming Broken Steel sounds like it could be just the thing to help get past it.

Here’s a short list of what Bethesda is promising to flash blind players with once it hits on May 5th:

• raising the level cap from 20 to 30 along with including a new perks, two confirmed so far:
  Steel Nerves – speedier regeneration of AP points
  Puppies! – If Dogmeat dies, he’ll come back as a puppy that can be recruited again at certain points in the game. Neat.
• New monsters including the armored Ghoul Reaper, Overlord Super Mutant, and a new Enclave soldier with a flaming personality
• New quest involving the Brotherhood of Steel fighting against a revitalized Enclave across the DC Wasteland
• New areas to explore including a Presidential Metro line running beneath DC and the Enclave’s new digs
• New weapons such as the awe-inspiring Tesla Cannon which can apparently down a Vertibird in one shot. Yeah, you’ll need that.

Since work on this DLC was mentioned to have begun in December of last year, I have high hopes that this won’t have the kind of issues that The Pitt suffered from. Aside from changing the ending allowing the game to be more open ended, depending on what you chose to do at the climax of the adventure the Wasteland will reflect your decision in whether you followed the “good” side or snuck in something special for “evil”.

And here are a few juicy pics to show off some of the new stuffs:

The Brotherhood of Steel and their valiant superweapon, Liberty Prime, bring their arsenal of freedom to the oppressed masses of the Wasteland!

The Enclave won't be happy to see you again after what happened the last time you visited one of their hangouts.

As you can see, our newest Super Mutant, the Overlord, epitomizes our focus on crushing their foes into bloody paste and then pulverizing them some more just to be safe.

Here's a Presidential Perk that will come in handy.

If only you thought about attaching those pipes to a bottling plant first, but noooooo. You had to activate it "for the good of everyone". Pffft.

Finally, my Big Guns skill won't feel so useless anymore!

Life after the Pitt

I finished the Pitt earlier this week, but…what happened to the quality control?

There were more than just one or two ways in which players could easily break some of the logic in the game, whether it’s taking a path less traveled or simply running away from your enemies. None of the DLC for Oblivion gave me nearly as many issues as the Pitt did. I’m not even going to touch the problems that Xbox 360 owners have experienced already, requiring Bethesda to pull the DLC and then re-upload it.

That said, when it works, there’s a pretty decent story and some nice loot found within it. Modders should be able to have a field day in populating their own ideas of what the rest of post-apocalyptic Pittsburgh should look like since what is available feels like one tiny block. But I hope that Broken Steel, the last DLC and the one that changes the ending, raises the level cap, and delivers one whallop of an adventure in clearing out the Enclave from the DC area, won’t have as many bizarre problems as this one did.

I do have a bit more faith in that it will be a bit more solid, though. Bethesda’s Jeff Gardiner has noted that they had started working on Broken Steel shortly before Christmas last year, after they wrapped up work on Fallout 3, meaning that it may have gotten a much longer lead time in development than the other two had. With the high level concepts that they’ve been juggling around for this last piece of DLC, I’m hoping that’s the case.

It's not a bad place to visit as long as you can overlook the problems that go beyond the new tenants

So Operation Anchorage won’t run on your PC…

Aside from having to fix this, it's actually quite fun if you love new items and story material.

Disclaimer: By following these steps, you take full responsibility for whatever happens next. It’s a simple process, but thanks to so many years in IT, I know that there are people that can screw up a copy/paste out there. If you have any doubts, find someone that can help you.

If you know how to install a mod from a site like Fallout Nexus, then the process is pretty much the same thing with only you having to read the steps as to where the DLC was saved on your PC by Games for Windows Live and then copying and pasting the files to the Data directory. All done!

I had this happen to me. After downloading the content and watching the game say that it was loading it, nothing happens for about an hour until I give up. It seems that even though the game claims to have loaded it, one some machines the quest simply doesn’t start. There is a way to force/fix it, though, but it requires you to do a little jumping through a few technical hoops as I found out after trying to track down some information on this.

If you’ve installed a mod in Oblivion before, then this will seem like cake. If not, I hope my steps are as clear as they can be in case you run into this.

The following steps are for Windows XP so don’t blame me if you try this under Vista. I’m not sure how different the steps are.

After you’ve purchased the content via Games for Windows Live, it will have downloaded it to a default location. First, make sure that you can see hidden folders. If you already can, you can skip these steps. If not and are not sure how to:

1) Double click on My Computer

2) Double click on your C: drive

3) You will see a list of folders.

4) In the menu bar at the top of the window click on Tools -> Folder Options

5) Under Folder Options, click on View

6) Under View, you will see an option marked “Hidden Files and Folders”

7) Double click on “Hidden Files and Folders”

8 ) Click on the radio button next to “Show hidden files and folders”

7) Once you’ve done that, Click on Apply. You should now be able to see hidden folders.

If you can already see hidden folders, or if you’ve followed the steps above, follow this path on your C: drive:

C:\Documents and Settings\MyUserName\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\XLive\DLC

1) “MyUserName” is YOUR user name

2) Under the DLC folder, keep drilling down until you get to a folder called Content

3) Double click on the Content folder

4) You should see three files with the Anchorage name. Highlight all three and right click -> Copy

5) Go to the folder where you installed Fallout 3 (it will usually be: C:\Program Files\Bethesda Softworks\Fallout 3)

6) Double click on the Data folder under your Fallout 3 folder

7) Right click -> Paste; this will copy the three files over

8 ) Start up Fallout 3

9) Click on Data Files; you should see the Fallout 3 file checkmarked and see the Anchorage entry

10) Click on the empty box next to “Anchorage” to checkmark it

11) Start the game and wait a few minutes for the radio signal

That should do it. If it still doesn’t work for you, I’m not sure what to say since these instructions are what worked for me.

Download a GECK today!

As another piece of Fallout news, Bethesda has made the GECK available for modders to build new dreams within the wasteland. No, not the one that you can use to turn your dead yard into a lush, green happy field in the middle of winter, or your annoying neighbor into a tree. This is the editor that potential modders can use to bring their ideas to life in Fallout 3, much like how the editor for Oblivion gave us new quests, buildings, clothing, and everything else from the sorcerous to the sordid. Or a combination of both with the appropriate age gate.

You can grab it from their official site and add your own missions, items, quests, or whatever else your mutant mind comes up with. I can’t wait to see what modding projects are started up with this one.

A better world for tomorrow exists today!

Could that be…the gauss rifle?!

IGN has posted a great interview with Jeff Gardiner, the lead producer for Fallout 3, talking about the DLC “Operation Anchorage”. I had guessed that they would use some kind of simulation angle to get the player into a battle that happened two centuries earlier and I was right, and the new art looks great! Check this shot out from IGN’s site:

It might be a simulation, but the interview says that we'll be able to use new toys in the main game. Hopefully, they will include THIS.

Mmmm, the Gauss Rifle… Anyways, it’s a good read. The points that stuck with me from it were:

• a new perk called Covert Ops
• focus on combat/stealth combination
• new weapons, armor, and acheivements…I guess it’s not all in your head
• four to five hours in length
• involves the liberation of Alaska from Chinese occupation; sounds like you’ll also be leading and commanding tactical teams of NPCs in helping accomplish this…sweet.

The interview also touches in the next two DLCs, The Pitt (taking place in Pittsburgh), and Broken Steel which will somehow work your character back into the main game. If you’ve seen the “heroic” ending of F3, you’re probably asking the same question I am…how?!

Stop the Reds, Fallout Style, and what about the kids?!

Anyone looking at the Data Files option on the loading menu for Fallout 3 and had played Oblivion will notice checkmark boxes for optional add-ons, meaning that it was only a matter of time that Bethesda would actually make something extra for release. Sure enough, they’ve posted an official press release that details what they’re planning to bring out for the Fallout faithful to mutate their latest version into something better.

It looks like Fallout 3 has found a second life in the next-generation thanks to Bethesda’s efforts which is one of the main reasons why I’m happy that it looks like it will be a big hit. The original two still hold a place of special note within my gaming history and I still have Fallout 2 loaded up and ready to go for another round of exploration…as good as Fallout 3 is, I still think that Fallout 2 edges it out in some respects…but Fallout 3’s rebirth of the franchise can only be a good thing to be excited about looking ahead when you have something like Shadowrun for the 360 as the other possible alternative.

Anyway, the DLC sounds great:

• Operation: Anchorage – Only hinted at in Fallout 3 and in the previous Fallouts, this was one of the battles that eventually led to someone pushing the button and launching the nuclear holocaust that resulted in the Fallout world. Before that happened, though, the Chinese had invaded Alaska, threatening the oil reserves of the United States. The Liberation of Anchorage would drive China from Alaska, but accelerate the path to the Great War. This sounds really exciting. The only thing I can think of how they’ll be able to pull this one of is to simply cast the player as a soldier in the war through some crazy time rift/dream sequence, or send them in using a Tranquility Lounger. This one is due as early as January.
• The Pitt – This was mentioned by the BoS (Brotherhood of Steel) in the game as a huge battle they had fought and as one of the worst armpits of the Wasteland. According to the press release, it sounds like a raider hardpoint which means plenty of punk armor and gory violence will be on tap. It says “choose your side”, so I’m guessing that you can either help the raiders maintain the Pitt or clean it out. This one’s got a Feburary release date.
• Broken Steel – Wipe out the last of the Enclave from DC. This one is a little wierd as the press says that it takes place AFTER the main quest which I can see happening with one of the other endings, but there’s one ending that I think has a strong chance of being canon…meaning that this can’t occur without some major retooling of what actually happened. I don’t see how, but I guess we’ll find out when March comes rolling around to see which ending Bethesda considers for this release. Sounds great, though. Adding to my Tesla Armor collection never gets old.

Fallout 2 had a railgun and lots of NPC partners...hint, hint...

The only problem with all of this goodness? It’s exclusive DLC for the Xbox 360 which means that PC players will likely have to wait a few more months before getting any of it. All of the release dates above are for the console version. Bethsoft might say nothing about the deal and everyone will debate whether or not it’s actually going to come out, how it’s unfair, blah, blah, blah.

All you need to do is look at what happened with both the Knights of the Nine release and Shivering Isles for Oblivion and how long PC players had to wait. Knights wasn’t a bad deal, all things considered, as it included all of the houses and additional DLC that console players had gotten first. Despite the smokescreen of uncertainty, I’m pretty confident that stuff will eventually hit PCs…it’s only a matter of time, as usual.

One thing that I’m pretty sure consoles won’t get will be the G.E.C.K.. The aptly named G.E.C.K. editor is also slated for release and will open the modding floodgates, not that players are already hard at work on their own ideas. One enterprising modder had even gone so far as to make children mortal with karmic consequences, something that mod warehouse Fallout 3 Nexus was quick to make adult only.

I know what some players are thinking…why would someone actually want to do this? Well, it’s not like the game is geared to be a Hitler simulator, first off, and it can actually add a degree of uncomfortable consequence for saintly minded characters when a Super Mutant follows them to a place they weren’t expecting. It opens a lot of possibilities especially in light of the G.E.C.K.’s impending release. I mean, kids were made slaves to be bought and sold in the game. Think of the kind of playstyle that would come out of having to actively defend them from the raiders that come after them. I’d think players would feel a lot more invested in the fact that there’s an additional degree of risk in the game now.

On another tack, Fallout 2 was also completely hands off on many things considered taboo in today’s games, leaving it to the player to conduct themselves as they saw fit within the sandbox provided. Oblivion avoided kids…many RPGs today tend to and when they were brought in, there was no reason to really fear for their safety unless the script actually says “giant city must explode now”. To prevent that at any degree is something of an anathema to many gamers, even if it is something that they would never do. It’s not so much commercializing morality in this case as it is in pursuing the kind of freedom that gaming can offer in the same way that film has expressed its own vision.

Merely knowing that the option is in place is satisfying enough, possibly because of the doors that it might open for storytelling. Mad Max fought to save all those kids in Thunderdome, and the kids actually turned out to be damn good survivalists without going completely Lord of the Flies on each other. I don’t see why we can’t have that kind of experience in a game.

To have someone else dictate in-game morality to the masses is something that simply doesn’t settle well with players looking for a true sandbox experience. If they want to run their character as an equal opportunity Grim Reaper, that’s their choice and that’s what they want out of a freeform game, especially one that already has adult overtones such as Fallout 3…the kids can swear like pirates which is more than I can say for some of the other wastelanders. At least that’s how I see the arguments for and against something like this, why the choice was available in Fallout 2, and why a mod like this exists today, to embrace the fact that within the confines of a fictional universe like Fallout 3, anything might be possible for good or ill. It should be more of the player’s choice to be Mad Max, or Thulsa Doom, but PC (politically correct) decisions tend to make that difficult for everyone.