Let's Play Fallout: New Vegas [The Servant]

[Luxatrum]

Ezekiel
S. 6
P. 5
E. 5
C. 5
I. 9
A. 5
L. 5
Tag!: Explosions, Science, Medicine

A New Dead World

Spoiler

My name is Ezekiel. It means power of God, or at least that's what my father James told me. I'm currently typing this my first journal entry, on a cliff outside my former home, Vault 101. Well not so much typing as much as editing a text document already on my Pip-Boy. Always was good at tinkering with the damn thing. More so after becoming a Pip-Boy Programmer.

At any rate, here I am out in the wastes, looking for him. I'm out here with no food or water, and no direction. And to think yesterday everything was normal...

It all began with my friend Amata waking me from my sleep. I hand waved her nervousness by telling her I was dreaming about her. Then she told me my dad had somehow gotten out of the and the Overseer didn't take the news well. He had killed Jonas and started a manhunt for me. She tried to convince me take a pistol she smuggled out, but I told her to keep it. It may not have been practical, but I had a gun already. The BB gun my dad got me for my tenth birthday. Thinking back on it, I probably only took it cause the situation hadn't sunk in yet.

I had to fight my waste past all of the Overseer's goons as well a few radroaches, but I told myself if I could help it, I wouldn't get distracted from my goal. Of course just such a distraction came in the form of one Butch DeLoria begging me to save his mother from the dreaded radroaches. If only he knew what irony meant. I convinced him to man and up and take care of the problem, but I ended up helping him in the end. In thanks he gave me his Tunnel Snakes coat. Almost as bad a gift as a Beatrice birthday poem (like the one this log used to be).

Shortly afterwards, I came upon Amata being interrogated by her so called father and that punk of a security head. She opened fire on Mack and bolted out of there while I made my way to the Overseer's room. On my way there I saw Jonas. Or rather, his body. I took his labcoat and donned it over my Vault-Tec Uniform and made for the exit. It would serve as a reminder to me of this terrible day. As the door to the vault began to open, Amata approached me amazed at my handiwork. I told her that when I say I'll do something, I damn well mean it. I tried to convince her to come with me, but we were attacked by more security goons. Amata ran off, and I shattered both of the goons legs with my baseball bat. And then... I just left. Amata wasn't about to come with me, and there was nothing else here for me.

I was blinded as I stepped out, the sun was brighter then bright, and I had to sit down for a minute until my vision returned. Looking out at the wasteland all I saw was death. Mr. Brody had said the bombs fell about 200 years ago. To me it looked more twenty.

--LOG END--

A short one for now I'll have another one up maybe tomorrow.

 

[CM156_v1legacy]

Ezekiel
S. 7
P. 4
E. 5
C. 5
A. 9
L. 5
Tag!: Explosions, Science, Medicine

SPECAL. You're missing an "I" in there, if I'm not mistaken, dear reader.

 

[Luxatrum]

Yes I did whoops. Also noticed I made a mistake for strength it was a point to high.

 

[ChupathingyX]

I mean Mothership Zeta sucked, and did horrible things to the Fallout universe, but at the very least it was somewhat interesting. This? This is tedium incarnate.

Personally I thought MZ was worse;

screwing up the story is worse than having bad gameplay to me, and MZ screwed up the story and had bad gameplay. At least OA didn't screw up the story considering that up until it was released we didn't have any real details on the Reclamation.

Still don't quite get how the Gauss Rifle works though.

It was a while back but I remember J. E. Sawyer explaining how it worked on his Formspring.

Heh, J. E. Sawyer knows more about...screw it I'm not even going to bother.

Fallout 3 question: What do you think of the Gauss Rifle?

Yeah I liked it, had a nice design, it was powerful, and after doing this DLC it became one of my main weapons.

In New Vegas, however, it's a bit more difficult to obtain so I rarely use it.

 

[Dr_Horrible]

Hello everyone, here we have a special 2-episode update of my Fallout 3 Let's Play (I got a lot of footage).

Spoiler: The Doctor plays: Fallout 3 - episode 13, Raiders...

The Doctor plays: Fallout 3 - episode 13, "Raiders..."​

Wherein young Liam fights for his life.​

Spoiler: The Doctor plays: Fallout 3 - episode 14, Almost out.

The Doctor plays: Fallout 3 - episode 14, "Almost out."​

Are we out yet?​

Captcha: Used nexoll. "hey, shopkeeper! this nexoll is used!"

 

[AlternatePFG]

I apologize for the lack of update today, as I had a dentist appointment and some other things to do, so I was gone most of the afternoon. Tomorrow I will have the update intended for today and a Lily's Log up as well.

On the bright side, here's a video I found while browsing the Fallout wiki, it's a few months old though, you might have seen it before:


It's pretty dang cool, too bad the guy couldn't make it wearable though.

Again, sorry for no update.

 

[Dr_Horrible]

I apologize for the lack of update today, as I had a dentist appointment and some other things to do, so I was gone most of the afternoon. Tomorrow I will have the update intended for today and a Lily's Log up as well.

On the bright side, here's a video I found while browsing the Fallout wiki, it's a few months old though, you might have seen it before:


It's pretty dang cool, too bad the guy couldn't make it wearable though.

Again, sorry for no update.

No worries man, you've stayed amazingly on task for this long that missing a single day is trivial.

 

[Luxatrum]

I Am the Only Sane Man After the Bombs Fell

Spoiler

This log almost didn't happen today. There was almost no point. The whole reason behind it was if I had died out here and someone had come along and found them, maybe they'd find dad, and give them to him. Something. Anything. I didn't know anymore.

After stumbling out the vault I came across a ruined street, buildings demolished and the road itself in tatters. I passed some sort of flying robot, different then Andy from the vault. It was spouting some propaganda about President John Eden and his group called called the On-Clav or something. I yelled bitterly at the robot "President!? President of what? All I see is a god damned wasteland!" It didn't seem to notice me and just kept flying and relaying Eden's message.

A bit of wandering later, I came across what had used to be a school, and that's when I realized how big a hell hole this place really was. The realization is what nearly stopped me making another log. Some people wearing trash began to shoot at me for seemingly no reason other then because they could. And I thought Tunnel Snakes were bad. I ducked for cover and waited for them gripping my baseball bat. If they wanted to kill me, the were going to have a hell of a time trying. The idiots tried to bum rush me and I repayed their stupidity by bashing them in the face. After I killed them I sat there for a moment to think. Just what did dad want out here? Surely our safety was more important then whatever it was he was trying to accomplish out here.

After looting the school and killing more of the savages inside (and they were savages, their flair for "decoration" did away with any doubts on the matter), I came across an intact house and decided it'd make for a good spot to rest, and if there were any savages inside... Well I knew how to deal with them. To my surprise there were no savages. Just a woman down on her luck. She said some guy named Moriarty was after her saying she owned him money. Seemed convinced I worked for him. I played along and convinced her to give me what she had. She gave me 400 bottle caps. Bottle caps. I wasn't sure what to say so I left. I figured she must have been insane or something, but she told me that there was a town nearby and on a whim I went to check it out. Maybe dad was there I thought.

Sadly I thought wrong. On both matters sadly, turns out botle caps were currency after all, and the sheriff here said if I wanted answers to ask that Moriarty guy at his pub for the info. I do think I was right about the insanity bit however, seeing as the people of Megaton built their homes around an atomic bomb. I offered to fix it since I knew quite a bit about explosives from my days in the vault (turns out yes, the Pip-Boy 300 A model can survive an explosion). Simms said he'd pay me a hundred caps for the job, and wouldn't be convinced otherwise. I ran down to the bomb before going to pub and saw what I could do about it. Last thing I needed was the thing going off while I was in the pub.

Turns out defusing a nuke is a lot easier then would think. I knew what to do right away and got the job done with ease. I got payed my due and even got a house for my work. I was told to go speak to some Moria person, but first I had to learn where dad went first. It's important to have priorities. At the pub I met some poor soul named Gob, he was what was called a ghoul around here. He was not an attractive fellow to say the least. To be frank he looked like a corpse. I sort of blurted out my shock and offended him. Or at least I would have if he didn't seem so used to that treatment. I felt bad and tried to tell he did look too bad, he thanked me for my fake compliment but had no information for in regards to my father. Neither did the lady who worked there. Then again telling her to shove it with the "tough lady act" probably didn't help matters.

I finally ended up taking with Moriarty, and he knew my dad. He told me the truth about my birth, how my father James and I weren't from vault 101 at all. That dad had somehow gotten us in after I had been born. I didn't believe it at first, but as I thought about it, some things began to make sense. Still didn't help matters any. I couldn't go back there if I wanted. Mortiarty said he'd tell me where dad went if I payed him 100 caps. I told him to get real, I wasn't giving him money I had earned saving his and the whole town's skin. He laughed at me and wished me luck finding my dad without him. I'd find out about dad one way or another. I figured if he was the only who bothered to keep tabs on visitors, he must have something he kept notes on. It would probably be on his person, but somehow I didn't he was that smart. I broke into his back office and found a computer. I was pretty surprised it managed to survive the wastes.

I tried to hack into it like I did back in the vault, but I quickly realized the security on this thing was out of my league. I cursed my luck but then began to look around for a clue to the password. It was on a slip of paper right next to the damned thing. I put in the term "lotsacaps" and found out where dad went. "Lotsacaps". Greedy asshole. I silently thanked him for the info, and to add insult to injury stole some of his caps as well. That'd teach him.

After that I went to go see this Moria person, and some how got wrapped up in research for her book. Then one Lucy West goaded me into delivering a letter on my way out of Moria's shop. I went from being a wanderer, to a guenia pig, to a courier. Fantastic. After baptising myself in "Atom's Glow" for the damned book she got me scavenging a Super Market of some kind. I was close to strangling the sociopath, but she added armor to my vault suit as some sort of compensation. I dropped off Jonas's lab coat and Butch's gaudy coat and headed out to the store do a bit of shopping. I almost didn't survive the venture.

Right outside were a bunch of dead savages (I learned they were called Raiders back in Megaton) I saw the largest scorpion any man or beast had ever seen. The thing had to be ten, no twenty times larger then the ones I had seen on holofilms. It dwarfed me and it's stinger was as big as my head. And it was hungry. I backpedaled, shooting it with a Hunting Rifle I found back in the school. The bullets didn't even faze it. I ran for my life and hurled myself over a picket fence and gripped my bat. I thought I was done for, but I slammed that bat into the Scorpion King as hard as I could over and over. And over. I was at the point where I was stabbing stimpacks into the wounds it was doing inflicting to me just to stay alive. Eventually it succumbed to it's wounds and I nearly passed out from the effort. If there were any more of those in the Super Duper Mart, Moira could scavenge for herself.

Perks Taken: Intense Training(brought my agility to 5), Daddy's Boy
Bobble heads: Strength

Ugh a giant radscorpion spawned this early in the game. If it wasn't for the retard AI I would have died already.

 

[Drakmorg]

I apologize for the lack of update today, as I had a dentist appointment and some other things to do, so I was gone most of the afternoon. Tomorrow I will have the update intended for today and a Lily's Log up as well.

On the bright side, here's a video I found while browsing the Fallout wiki, it's a few months old though, you might have seen it before:


It's pretty dang cool, too bad the guy couldn't make it wearable though.

Again, sorry for no update.

Strange coincidence, just today I met a guy on campus who had designed a pip-boy mount for his smart phone.

 

[AlternatePFG]

Holy shit, the new Lonesome Road trailer looks awesome. Certainly looking forward to that, I just need to progress further in my current New Vegas playthrough so I can do all the DLC beforehand.

[HEADING=1]Chapter XXV - "We Apologize for Operation Anchorage, Here's Some Loot"[/HEADING]​

Spoiler

So yeah, we're almost done with Operation Anchorage. Thank god. Just a little bit more time to spend in the simulation, and then we're back to the good old Capital Wasteland.

This time we don't get to bring our squad. I'm glad you went through all that trouble with introducing a new gameplay mechanic just to spend 30 minutes with it.

That one soldier guy still follows us though. I still can't believe he wasn't pointlessly killed off yet.

We walk right into the middle of the battlefield, and rockets are exploding all around us. Although a few blow up pretty close to us, we don't get hurt much.

Now we go down into the trenches. I'm not sure I understand the purpose of having trenches here...

The allied AI is so goddamn dumb.

And here I thought they were dropping mediocre repetitive combat in favor of a shitty forced stealth mission or something. Somehow, I think the stealth mission would have been more fun, even if it was completely terrible.

Of course, any possible difficulty in this section is completely destroyed by the fact that the health dispensers are right down the trench.

This is worse than regenerating health.

Another captured soldier and more intel.

Repeat this image ad nauseum and you pretty much got the gist of the whole trench section of this game.

It's funny that a game that is very much about conserving ammo has ammo dispensers that give you free ammo in the DLC. Sure, it doesn't effect the outside world but Operation Anchorage almost fells like a horrible, horrible prototype of what Fallout 3 could have been.

A Pre-War Fallout game could have been cool, but not like this.

Not like this.

Throughout this whole part you can't go for more than 5 minutes without a huge explosion. What is this, Call of Duty?

In fact, this really feels like a horrible mixture of Fallout and Call of Duty. (Don't get me wrong, I find Call of Duty fun, especially 4 which I loved but this kind of gameplay really doesn't feel like Fallout 3 at all.)

There's a flamethrower guy to mix up the combat here.

The guy who follows you has the same few lines or so.

The game just pretty much gives you supplies after every few fights. At least it isn't drawing to draw it's length out by killing you repeatedly, but this isn't fun either.

There's a bunker with two turrets in it that can seriously damage you if charge right at it and try to take out the turrrets. That would be the stupid thing to do though, going around makes the turrets entirely moot.

Bethesda loves hiding these pyro's in corners right behind you so that they could ambush you.

Hey, at least they don't have Backburners. Fuck Backburners.

More rocket launcher enemies at close range, lovely.

Eventually you leave the trenches and get into the battle proper. Due to the limitations of Bethesda's engine, they can't really make large scale battles with many NPC's but I'll cut them some slack on that one.

The way this part is set out is that you have to take direct fire when trying to continue further in the level. We don't have the sniper weapon pack or any decent long ranged weapons, except the Gauss Rifle, which we're shit with.

I think the simulations AI is becoming self aware and they're fighting over the infinite health dispensers.

The turrets are rather annoying to take down.

I love how the Gauss Rifle sends people flying on critical hits.

A soldier in Power Armor destroys the turrets with his minigun. These guys showed up in the middle of the fight and mowed down any opposition almost instantly, it's a pretty cool scene.

This part shows some potential but it still isn't fun to have your super-powered AI allies to do all the work for you, even if the combat is so boring and uninteresting.

The Gauss Rifle is still fun to use, can't overuse it though. Ammo for it is rare, and it isn't replenished by the ammo machines.

We come across an absolutely huge minefield. Better be careful...

Uh, I don't think running out in the middle of there is the smartest idea...

Yeah, that was a bad idea. So the idea is that people power armor can't get across the minefield but normal footsoldiers can. It's still deadly electricity though, I mean that's easily enough to kill a normal person.

Huh, I wonder what the purpose of this building is.

So apparently this switch disables the minefield.

Again, deadly electricity.

And now the guys in power armor run across the battlefield towards the Chinese base.

You can see the actually town in the background but you can't actually reach it. Too bad, that could actually be a pretty interesting area.

Woah, the gates are blown up with mini-nukes. That's pretty cool how all the soldiers were using them to blow up the gates.

Now it's time for the climactic battle...

We walk in on the chinese commander killing one of the prisoners. What a jerk.

"[Speech, 100%] You've already lost, General. Don't throw away your dignity."

"[SUCCESS] You will never take me prisoner!"

So, he kills himself. What a fucking huge anticlimax. Fighting him normally is one of the most tedious battles in the game, however, so skipping it is fair game.

The general shows up out of nowhere.

I dunno. *shrug*

"Sir, Yes Sir!"

"With the General's death, our boys can secure this refinery and be on their way to Anchorage proper. You've helped pave the way for taking the city back from the Reds, soldier. Good work. That'll complete this portion of your training. Report to your superior for debriefing and you next assignment. Dismissed!"

Wait, if this is only a training sim, why does it open the fucking armory door?

This entire DLC to open a fucking door.

And now we're finally out of the VR pod and out of goddamn Anchorage.

Whatever's behind that door better be worth it.

Everyone's already congregated around that door. I thought it would just open right up after we completed the simulation.

Turns out not all the Outcasts are assholes after all. That's nice, I guess.

All of that work, to open a door that seems like it could be easily blown up.

That's a pretty awesome suit of power armor. It's entirely broken too, almost indestructible.

Oh look, a Gauss Rifle. This is Bethesda's way of apologizing for the entire DLC.

Uh-oh, some of the Outcasts are pissed off because we're able to take whatever we want from the armory.

All of the Outcasts turn hostile except for the commander and the scientist woman who was kind of a ***** to you.

There goes your head. That's what you get for not wearing a helmet.

You can keep McGraw and the scientist women alive, if you kill the Outcasts fast enough. Then they'll sell stuff and do some repairs for you.

We did manage to keep them alive, but I very much doubt we'll ever return here.

Yeah, I donned the Winterized T-51b power armor and with it, we're pretty much indestrucible.

Yup, suddenly their tune has changed now that we saved their lives.

Had to get the rest of the loot. Oh look, a rocket launcher we'll never use.

We also get a trench knife, chinese assault rifle and Jingwei's Shocksword.

The shocksword is pretty cool but the Shiskebab is better with they pyromaniac perk.

So, in the end, what was the point of Operation Anchorage? I would have loved to see an interesting take an the whole war in the pre-war Fallout universe, but they really didn't bother with that, and instead went for boring linear shooter mode.

And frankly, Fallout 3 as a linear shooter is terrible. It's not fun in the slightest, and constant combat is simply grating.

Just noclipping through the armory door and taking all the loot gives all the value of this DLC. This doesn't feel like it's something that would be in Fallout, pretty much all the charm of the series is forcibly ripped out and replaced with a completely straightfaced FPS, it isn't even played for laughs. At least Operation Anchorage is mercifully short.

Not shown in this update: Me fighting a small band of Super Mutants outside the elevator, and me stopping by Megaton to store the majority of the loot in our home.

Next update, not really sure where to go next...

So, what did you guys personally think about Operation Anchorage?

Also, so it's decision time on where to go next in the LP, what sidequests do we do? Should we get that cache of weapons at Hamilton's Hideaway?

 

[Berenzen]

I'm all for Hamilton's Hideaway, followed by Oasis, I love Oasis.

As for the DLC, I hated it. It was boring, linear and the electric blue tint to everything was just painful on the eyes.

 

[DustyDrB]

Man, Operation Anchorage really adds nothing to the story. That's such an odd thing to see after playing all the New Vegas DLC so far. The Pitt added a good bit by giving us more insight into the slave trade and "the cure", but this? It just tells you that the Brotherhood Outcasts want loot. Yippee. I can't blame your lack of fondness for this content.

For next time: Any side stuff you can do with a good story to it? Do you really want to go from one loot grab to another?

 

[AlternatePFG]

For next time: Any side stuff you can do with a good story to it? Do you really want to go from one loot grab to another?

Yeah, there's a few sidequests with a decent amount of dialogue to them. As for "good" story, I dunno. Some of it gets pretty silly, which feels really out of place with this game. There are some locations that do environmental storytelling really well in this game though. I just want to get Hamilton's Hideaway out of the way first, it's at least a somewhat interesting location anyways.

I'm all for Hamilton's Hideaway, followed by Oasis, I love Oasis.

Yeah, I think Oasis would be a good place to check out.

 

[CM156_v1legacy]

So, what did you guys personally think about Operation Anchorage?

Again, using the Busy Street [http://thebusystreet.com/2011/08/01/the-best-rating-scale-is-invented/] scale, I give it a -1.5 or maybe a -2. It tried to be a military FPS but failed at it. Fallout, which for me involved more conservative use of ammo, didn't fit well with running and gunning.

Also, so it's decision time on where to go next in the LP, what sidequests do we do? Should we get that cache of weapons at Hamilton's Hideaway?

Have you done anything for the wasteland surivial guide? It might be worth doing.

 

[AlternatePFG]

Okay, time for that Lily's Log I promised.

[HEADING=1]Lily's Log - Operation Anchorage[/HEADING]​

Spoiler

After Dad died, I really did not have much of a reason to go straight to Lamplight Caverns. If the GECK was in that Vault, I don't think it was going anywhere. As far as I knew, the Enclave had no idea of it's location.

So I decided to wander for a bit. Paladin Cross really didn't seem to mind. Eventually, I came upon a signal from the Outcasts, a faction split off from the Brotherhood of Steel. They were being attacked by super mutants and I was already nearby, so I decided to help.

I haven't encountered the Outcasts before, so I only realized too late that they were assholes. We fought our way through the super mutants and to their base, I was rather having deja vu, I did pretty much the same thing with the Brotherhood.

Once we made it to their base, I was already on my way back, when they noticed the pip-boy on my arm. For some reason they needed me, and they offered compensation if I helped them. I could have used the money, so I took the lift down. Their leader by the name of Defender McGraw said that they needed to get past a door to an armory. I passed by that door earlier, and it was not impressive at all.

One would assume that with their extensive knowledge of pre-war tech that the Outcasts could have hacked the door. Or, you know, blow it up.

Instead, I have to go through another virtual reality simulation in order to open that door. My last trip through one of those simulations was disturbing enough, so I wanted to avoid going through such an experience again, but that was apparently the only way to open that door. So, I decided to help them out and complete the simulation, why not right?

Oh yeah, the simluation is lethal. What's the point of having a training sim if it just kills you anyway?

For some reason, they needed me for my pip-boy. Apparently they thought it was stuck to my arm, but I wasn't going to say anything otherwise, because I realized if they didn't realize that they didn't need me, they probably would have just shot me and took my pip-boy.

So, I went into the simulation, apparently it took place during one of the conflicts that kicked off the Great War. I assume therefore, it would at least be less crazy than my trip through Tranquility Lane.

I don't really have much to say about what conspired during the simulation. I thought it impossible to make such an important historical event seem so dull, but somehow, whoever created this simulation managed to do it. While I am reasonably talented with weapons, I feel like I would have been ill-suited to be a soldier. For the most part, the simulation ordered me to blow up things of varying importance, and not much else.

I really have to wonder why they bothered to give the simluation a story or structure anyway. It all seemed rather pointless...

Eventually, I completed the simulation and opened the armory door. I was offered anything that I wanted from the armory as my reward, and thought that fair. In the middle of packing up the items I wanted, a battle broke out amongst the Outcasts. They started firing at me so I fired back. I managed to save McGraw, who was being attacked and the other scientist who was helping him. He was grateful, but still I've had enough of the Outcasts. I took what remained of the loot and left.

I will be cautious with further dealings with the Outcasts from now on.

The next update will probably be about Hamilton's Hideaway and heading towards whatever side quest I feel like doing next.

 

[Luxatrum]

Since you're planning on going to Hamilton's Hideaway, why not do the Blood Ties quest? I remember the family being an interesting bunch.

 

[AlternatePFG]

Since you're planning on going to Hamilton's Hideaway, why not do the Blood Ties quest? I remember the family being an interesting bunch.

We're already set for Oasis, but I wanted to do Blood Ties after that for sure.

 

[Dr_Horrible]

Hey everyone, sorry for the delayed update; it's been a busy day.

Spoiler: The Doctor plays: Fallout 3 - episode 15, We get a tour!

The Doctor plays: Fallout 3 - episode 15, "We get a tour!"​

Wherein young Liam gets a museum tour!
...
Oh yeah, there's also super mutants. (how are they in D.C. again?)​

 

[ChupathingyX]

Operation: Anchorage was horrible, not as horrible as Mothership Zeta..but still pretty horrible.

So you're going to Oasis next?

Well in that case I'm skipping your next updates because I don't want to see Bethesda destroy a beloved character.

 

[CM156_v1legacy]

Since you're planning on going to Hamilton's Hideaway, why not do the Blood Ties quest? I remember the family being an interesting bunch.

We're already set for Oasis, but I wanted to do Blood Ties after that for sure.

I just thought of something: Don't you have a limited time to do "Trouble on the Homefront"?

Operation: Anchorage was horrible, not as horrible as Mothership Zeta..but still pretty horrible.

So you're going to Oasis next?

Well in that case I'm skipping your next updates because I don't want to see Bethesda destroy a beloved character.

Ouch. Care to explain?