Pokey

Oh dear. That's exactly what I've been doing, and it isn't working.

Maybe it is the yellow passkey that you need. I don't remember. You can also use the action curser to bring up a menu and use the key. Click on the center of the door

It was the yellow one that I needed. I thought it was the read one because when I lockpicked the door, the Ghoul guard standing there said "That doesn't look like a red passkey."

So -- after I fix the reactor, I talked to Festus and got a holographic something or other. I'm supposed to take it back to my contact in Vault City, who then gives me access to the Vault, where I am to put the holographic data in the computer.

I did that, but after that the quest won;t move forward. I copied out the walkthrough for this section and went over it very carefully. After I go through the optimization sequence in the Vault, everything comes to halt. I can't get new dialogue out of the Vault City guy, and Festus gets mad at me because I "didn't do the optimization."

I am playing with the patched game. Very frustrating.

Did you try using the optimized disk on the computer in the reactor?

I started the whole sequence from scratch and must have done something differently because it all worked out in the end -- with the added bonus that I got into that loked room with all the goodies down on the third level of the vault.

My character build is working out well. As my second perk I chose the one that gives you 50% more on books, and since I've found a lot of books on Science, First Aid and Guns, my puny character packs quite a wallop with the Magnum at close range. For my next perk I'll choose something more related to attributes, since I'd like to have either higher Intelligence, or higher Agility to get the extra move in combat.

I ended up getting married (oops), and since the silly wench won't go away she might have to die in combat somewhere.

Hagatha! *snicker*

Heh heh. We're now "separated."

I sold her into slavery in Vault City. I reckon that's repayment for a shotgun wedding.

So I'm still not entirely sure how to handle combat with fifteen Raiders. I mean, my party members all shoot each other instead of the enemies, and I can only deal with one at a time -- if I can avoid getting blasted from behind by my "friends." Does their combat skill go up with mine? Or will they forever be klutzes? I can order them not to hit me, but then they stand around looking stupid,, since they're all behind me. My Gun skill is at 79%, so I can deal out pretty good damage, but even so -- only one at a time.

Also -- how do I know which guns are better? I know the Magnum with the extended clip is better than the little 10mm gun, but as to the rest of them -- how can I tell? You can't look at them properly when they're in the storekeeper's inventory, and I'm sure not a gun expert.

Grab a .233 pistol as soon as you can. I was using one at the end of the game. Here is a list of Fallout 2 weapons:

http://jaimas.livejournal.com/176650.html

Party members can be more trouble than they are worth. Never give them automatic weapons. At times they are handy but I often leave them outside a building or town. With large groups of raiders, etc, I usually try to draw them off a couple at a time. Running is always good too. I believe their skills go up with yours.

That is a great site Pokey. I wish I would have come across that when I first played the game. I love what they have to say about the Red Rider Limited Edition!

A handy site, that one.

I have four party members right now, and could have five, but alas, my dear wife and I are separated. I've left the Ghoul back in his town because I'm not sure what sort of reaction the outside world might have towards him, but I might go pick him up for a lark. A .23 pistol, hih? I think I've come across one of those recently, though I'm not sure where. I'll have to backtrack.

Lockpick skill now at80%, Small Guns at 90%. I've got my Doctor skillup to 60% and my speech sklil at 80%. I haven't really invested much into any other skill except for Repair, which I[ve bumped a few points.. First Aid has been ramped up considerably by books, as has Science.

What perks are recommended? I just gave myself Toughness as my third perk, but I want to make sure I don't give myself any real duffs.

Oh, and how do I get my stat scores higher? I read in the walkthrough that you can, but the perks for stat increases are all situational (50% increase in carrying capacity, as opposed to an overall Strength increase, for example).

Ah. I found the very gun you were talking about, in an Unknown Place. Good thing, too, considering who hangs out here. I may have to back out of here, though.

There are some perks that increase a stat by +1. I liked the perks that gave more action points, Action Boy, Bonus Move. Bonus Rate of Fire is a good one, if it is available to your character. You can also pick an additional Tag skill.

Ah. Anyway, now that I'm more or less familiar with the controls I'm really enjoying the game. I'm about to confront a Raider Hideout and don't think it will go well; I have the .233 pistol, but no ammo, and I think I have to go back to Vault city to get some. I'm going to try the shoot and run technique that has served me so well all my gaming life.

Money is sure hard to come by, though.

And what's with Cassidy, whining about stims all the time? I'm not letting him hold my stash, that's for sure.

Hagatha, your thread is making me want to play the earlier Fallouts. I just don't have the games. :frown12:

I downloaded Fallout 2 from Good Old Games for $10.00 They have both of the old games. Runs well, no problems so far. I'm playing on my laptop on XP.

I'll be going back to dowload Fallout 1, that's for sure.

I'm coming into some of the quests that require takin sides. Not sure where I'll go with them -- or whether I'll deliver that myserious briefcase I got in Vault City. And Reddick is full of plotting and intrigue.

Maybe I'll just go out and have some random encounters in the wilds. But ammo is so expensive, and I can never remember which kind of ammo each of my party members is using. Sulik, at least, is simple. No matter which weapon I give him he seems to think his sledgehammer is the best weapon, so I just let him pound away.

They are available on Gametap too. I kept Sulik for the whole game. He was pretty effective with his sledgehammer. He does have the super sledgehammer, doesn't he? I used a sledgehammer for a while to save ammo. It is effective against small animals.

I got a lot of cash early in San Francisco by pickpocketing gun dealers there. It was very easy even with low skill. They have a lot of ammo and guns for sale. You can steal from the gun dealer in Vault City too.

I had Vic for a while to repair things and then dropped him. Then I got Cassidy and later Marcus. Do you have the car yet? It make travel easy.

No, I haven't been able to find the part I need for the car. I'm just kind of wandering around, not really knowing what I'm supposed to do.

Is there a way to review all of the conversations for the quests? I can never remember where I'm supposed to go to find things. I know, for instance, that I'm supposed to get a piece of equipment for a mine in one of the towns, but I can't remember where that part is supposed to come from. I know I'm supposed to find a part for the car (I found one, but I need something else) but I hae no idea where to look.

I think you get the car part in Gecko. You can review the quests in your Pip Boy and if you click on them, get more information. I can't remember any archive of dialogue. Fallout 3 handled this better. Have you gone back to the questgiver and asked about the quest again? I can't remember if this worked in Fallout 2. The mine part is in New Reno at Renesco's place.

Gecko? I though I'd scoured the place. There is a tunnel with a blocked off spot, though. Maybe a little dynamite?

I guess it's time for another peek at the walkthrough. I'm in Reddick right now, in some tunnels, but I can take a quick run to New Reno and see about that part.

Someone in one of the buildings in Gecko has the part. He wants something in trade. uhs-hints is a good place for a slight nudge.

Yes. Skeeter.

But to get the part for Skeeter, I have to give Valerie a Tool and the Wrench.

I have a tool. But where's the Wrench?

Well, someone named Curtis apparently gives it to you, for solving the Joshua quest -- if you talk to Curtis before Joshua and his family leave Valut City. Which they did ages and ages ago. And I've never run into Curtis.

So -- is there anywhere else to get a Wrench?

Thanks. I just cleaned out the Mining Headquarters, and no Wrench to be found. I remember getting antsy around this time the last time I played. Too many quests can go badly awry by missing one little thing. Sigh. I'll keep looking.

Also, Vic is proving to be a terrible problem, as in bugged. After some battles, he is no longer effectively in the party, and I can't talk to him; I can trade out his items, as though he were dead, even though he hasn't been injured much during the battle. He just stands there.

I bet the chop shop has one. Also the vault. I never found Vic to be very effective, so dropped him for Cassidy.