RipTen Videogame Blog » fallout-3

Five O’Clock Fan Art: Fallout Posters

Dylan Duarte — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 00:00:54 +0000

I hadn’t played a Fallout title prior to Fallout 3, but I quickly understood the loyalty of the fans. It’s an intensely interesting world and these fan-made posters fill me with all sorts of glee.

Five O’Clock Fan Art is perfect for wrapping up the work day. You don’t want to think anymore, you just want to look at awesome things. And there’s nothing more awesome than a well crafted piece of videogame fan art. If you don’t agree, what the hell are you doing at a gaming blog?

This poster and many more like it are the work of Erling Andersen. Be sure to check out his website for more.

Bethesda’s Todd Howard says Skyrim is “More Like Fallout 3″ than Oblivion

Sam Naylor — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 21:08:22 +0000

Todd Howard, game director at Bethesda, has said that many things in Skyrim will take after Fallout 3 rather than Oblivion.

Speaking to PC Gamer, Howard noted that the leveling system will work much more smoothly:

[Skyrim]’s a lot more like Fallout 3, where as you level up you are going to see harder things, but the easier things stay around as well.

You’ll still run into the weaker stuff and you’ll just decimate it.

There won’t be any, “I saw a mudcrab the other day” conversations this time, either.

There’s very few completely random conversations. We’ve gone more towards a system, like we did in Fallout 3, where they have a specific conversation with a specific person about various topics.

Finally, the crazy “what the hell happened here” moments from Fallout will make a triumphant return.

We realised in Fallout 3 that that kind of environmental storytelling, where you come upon a little scene, is really good, and so we’ve tried to do it a lot more.

This all sounds quite good, and with it just weeks away I’m sure we’re all in a frenzy over Skyrim by now.

I’m will say however, that I probably won’t like it as much as Oblivion. I don’t know why I have this feeling, but it just seems too similar to Fallout 3 before it came out- it seemed like it would best Oblivion but it never could for me.

What do you think? Anyone agree with me?

For more on Skyrim be sure to check out the PC system reqs, the latest screens and our last hands on preview.

Five O’Clock Fan Art: Fallout 3 Poster

Dylan Duarte — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 00:00:43 +0000

War never changes and neither do artistically inclined fanboys. God bless’em, every one of them.

Ron Guyatt is a hero to many folks.

Geeked-Out: Fallout Fan Creates Fully Working Pip-Boy 3000

Sam Naylor — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 21:36:10 +0000

An avid Fallout fan has created a real-life, working Pip-boy 3000 to sit on his limp, nerdy wrist.

On;y joking about the wrist, by the way. As you can see in the demonstration video of the device (below), it’s too full of electics to have a wrist placed inside. The Pip-Boy is made from a cast shell with an HTC Desire smartphone fitted inside. An “Arduino Uno with a USB host shield running microbridge” acts as “an ADB host for the phone. The Arduino then sends button presses to the phone via TCP over USB.”

Always cool to see stuff like this make it into the real world. Even better is the fact that it (mostly) works exactly as it does in the game, even if it doesn’t actually work as a wrist-bound item. Superb effort from all involved- Ripten certainly approves. Leave a comment below to tell us what you think- waste of time or beautiful dedication?

Hungry for more hand-made swag? Take a leisurely stroll through our Geeked Out collection.

Geeked Out: Fallout Monopoly, Pip-Boy Sold Seperately

Stephanie Gutowski — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 23:15:14 +0000

This homemade Monopoly board is perhaps the greatest interactive Fallout fan-creation ever. Tired of dominating Park Place? Then grab your Rock-it Launcher and make your stand at Galaxy News Radio. Classic Monopoly pieces have been given a post-apocalyptic treatment, Nuka Cola caps are officially currency, and now taking the G.O.A.T. might actually get you $200. Drawn cards will even give players perks from either Fallout 3 or Fallout:New Vegas.

PinkAxolotl whipped this up for her boyfriend, so there’s a very slim chance of you ever getting one unless you date her as well. We can dream, though.

The board is made of PVC plate and the images were pulled from stock resources across DeviantArt, the coolest art club on the net.

I gotta get me one of these…

Hungry for more hand-made swag? Take a leisurely stroll through our Geeked Out collection.

Steam Summer Sale Day 9: DiRT 3, Mafia II

Sam Naylor — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 18:43:13 +0000

Welcome to the ninth day of the Steam sale, where Mafia II and the superb DiRT 3 are both on sale. Smash up some motors!

This year the gimmick is the “prize booth”, where gamers can gain tickets (like you might at a fair) to buy DLC bits and bobs for various Steam games. You can get tickets but completing the achievements set out on this page. There’s also a competition to win the top 10 games on your wish list on the same page.

Of course, there are hundreds of games on sale which can be found by browsing Steam‘s categories, but the daily deals are where the real savings begin. Here is what’s on offer today:

There are also deals on whole catalogues here for your delectation. Check back tomorrow for the next set of daily deals.

Obviously DiRT 3 is a recommendation from me, and Fallout 3 is an obvious choice, but I’m actually really interested in Universe Sandbox. It looks pretty interesting, doesn’t it?

Check Out This Awesome Pip-Boy 3000 Replica

Dave Oshry — Thu, 26 May 2011 00:22:01 +0000

Few things are better at helping you along your way in a post apocalyptic wasteland than a trusty Pip-Boy. This staple of the Fallout franchise is useful for keeping you up to date on your quests and letting you know just how close you are to an irradiated death at all times.

Well, this has just been brought to our attention. It’s one hell of a replica:

UPDATE: We have found out who made this magnificent piece of post-apocalyptica!! He goes by the name of Chanced and he makes all sorts of Fallout replicas!!

Yes, that’s an iPhone in there. So, this thing tracks your quests and gets crappy reception! zing!

Some of his other replicas include Nuka Cola bottlecaps, a Laser Pistol and what appears to be a second Pip-Boy replica made from that god awful Pip-Boy clock that came in the Amazon collector’s edition of Fallout 3. Yes, I’m still mad about that…

Want to get all nerdy about Fallout with me? Shoot me an email at Dave@RipTen.com or find me on Twitter @DaveOshry

Funny Fallout Fan Film Brings Some Life to the Wasteland

Dave Oshry — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 21:09:51 +0000

You need to take a Nuka Break! So do the characters in this long awaited Fallout fan film. It’s a light hearted look at life in the wasteland that Fallout fans should not miss.

Follow the adventures of the cute slave chick, snarky ghoul and chubby vault dweller (Who totally looks like Kreyg from HBG) as they make thier way across the wastes in search of Nuka Cola and it’s 23 delicious flavors. Oh, that’s Dr. Pepper? Whatever, just watch:

Twig (Zack Finfrock), a former Vault 10 Dweller, as he searches the barren wasteland of eastern California for ice-cold Nuka Cola. Along for the ride is Ben (Aaron Giles), a radiation-ravaged ghoul, and Scarlett (Tybee Diskin), a sexy former slave. Together, the three attempt to survive both the harsh wastes and a relentless group of bounty hunters while trying to find the coveted beverage — Nuka Cola.

To view the trailer, visit: http://www.nukabreak.com

Starring Zack Finfrock, Tybee Diskin, Aaron Giles, Vic Mignogna, Michele Specht, Kevin Brooks and Robert Thorne

Executive Produced by Melanie Wagor

Directed by Julian Higgins & Zack Finfrock

Written by Brian Clevinger (http://www.nuklearpower.com)

Story by Zack Finfrock (http://zackfinfrock.artworkfolio.com/)

Cinematography, VFX and Coloring by Aaron Scott Moorhead (http://www.plpfilms.com)

Production Design by Janessa Salcedo

Makeup/SFX Makeup by Branwyne & Melanie DeForrest

Edited by Vincent Talenti and Julian Higgins (http://www.vtfilms.com)

Original Music by Dan Martinez (http://www.danmartinezmusic.com)

Produced by Melanie Wagor & Zack Finfrock

Laser Rifle built by Devin Harrigan (http://www.featherweightcosplay.com)

**Fallout: Nuka Break is a non-profit fan film made by Fallout fans. Please don’t sue us. We don’t have any money. Really, like none. On a side note, Fallout: New Vegas is out. Check it out!
Fallout and all related things are TM and © Bethesda Softworks LLC, a ZeniMax Media company.

Yep, good stuff. I will now wait for Bethesda to sue them.

Bethesda Demakes Fallout 3 – As An 8-Bit Japanese RPG

Dave Oshry — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 17:31:11 +0000

If you’ve been wondering what Bethesda has been working on – it’s not Skyrim. Instead they’ve demade Fallout 3 into an old school Japanese RPG.

Better yet, you can actually play it!! If you can read Japanese . . .

Here’s what the BethBlog had to say:

What would Fallout look like if it had been made in 1987 by a Japanese development studio? Our scientists have answered that question, taking over the Japanese Fallout website with an 8-bit version of the Capital Wasteland.

Just like that import copy of Final Fantasy 5 you nabbed in the 90s, this game is Japanese language-only. Fortunately, it’s still amusing to gaze at the pixelated approximations of super mutants and the like. Here’s a direct link right to the game; no cartridge-cleaning required.

Sooo, yeah. Go play it – then come back here and tell us what it says. I can’t read Japanese – but I’m pretty sure it says, “War . . . War Never Changes”

Also, how come we don’t get an American version of this sweet looking demake? What gives!?

Cosplay Spotlight: Brotherhood of Steel T-45d Power Armor (Fallout)

Stephanie Gutowski — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 01:15:32 +0000

The Fallout series ranks very high amongst my favorite games of all time and the recreations that come from fellow fans never cease to amaze. To be fair, I may just be easily wooed by armor, but there’s something to be said about a team who can create a suit this accurate and realistic. This is the Brotherhood of Steel in all it’s post-apocalyptic glory.

You just don't mess with this. Unless you're a super mutant or something.

Meet Facing Costumes of Cosplay.com, a team of builders with a small, but impressive portfolio of recreations. One look at a progress shot here and I’m already head over heels about every detail. The quality of the material looks so authentic and the rust leaves one wondering if this is, perhaps, the real deal. I’m quite sure it’s not, otherwise the gentleman you see below would probably have been crushed under the weight of his own awesome.

Yeah, that's a big gun.

This is the kind of costume that forces you to stop and wonder if perhaps this isn’t all make believe, that miles away, men in metal suits are patrolling desolate lands, searching for truth among the wreckage of society. But naw, it’s just a garage full of guys forging wicked-sweet power armor.

Put me down for one of these.

For those of you wondering the difference between the power armor variants – this is, in fact, the original T-45d power armor, the first power armor ever used by the Brotherhood of Steel. Even though it was phased out for the T-51b power armor, this version of the iconic Brotherhood armor was still the most prevalent in Fallout 3. Probably because the brothers that made it to the East Coast wanted to kick it old school, who knows.

Know of a great video game costume that’s worthy of the spotlight? Send a Twitter tip to @RipTen @SigmaRue or @DaveOshry. There may be a cookie in it for you.

The Funniest Fallout 3 Review We Never Published

John Landis — Sun, 07 Nov 2010 17:00:36 +0000

In late 2008, John Landis was tapped to write the Fallout 3 review for RipTen. His original submission was rejected and instead we published a more, “traditional” review. In hindsight however, what follows is probably one of the absolute best game reviews that we have ever read … enjoy.

Fallout 3 is awesome.

Fallout 3 is awesome because it fucking rules. You start off as this person living in an underground vault. Then you escape from the vault. Outside of the vault, you get to kick the shit out of whatever you want. One time shot this dude in the face. With a shotgun. His head just fucking EXPLODED!!!1 There were chunks everywhere. I even found his eyeballs on the ground. It was gross. I threw up after that.

The part that sucks about Fallout 3 is that you can’t have sex. You can’t lez out or bang chicks or nothing. What’s the point of making a chick character if you can’t lez out? STOOPID! If I was a badass raider with a minigun and had slaves and shit, I’d have all kinds of sex slaves. They’d be slobbering on my balls all the time. That would be awesome. It’s stupid you can’t do that in the game, but you can make people’s heads explode or make them melt into piles of goo.

You can use all sorts of shit to blow up people’s heads, though. Shotguns, rifles, pistols, your bare hands, or super technological things like sledgehammers. I would personally like to make people’s heads explode with my mutated super wang, but they don’t let you do that in the game. I also like to make people melt into goop with plasma weapons. I like it when their head explodes and they turn to goop at the same time.

Anyway, Fallout 3 is awesome and if you don’t think so you need to check yourself into a home because you are seriously fucked in the head or something. Seriously, get some help. They probably make medication for whatever it is you’re going through. Take your pills, then play Fallout 3 again. If you don’t like it then, just pull out your own real-life version of Lincoln’s Repeater and shoot yourself in the dome because you have no reason to live.

Ten out of muthafuckin ten, bitches.

Ripten Retrograde: Fallout (1997)

Gavin Bard — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 20:00:38 +0000

I guess I should explain what this is.

This isn’t really a traditional review of a game, because video games just advance too quickly to do a traditional bullet-point type review of these older titles. Sure, there is a score at the end, but that is just because most people need to grind up quantified scores and inject them into the webbing of their toes or else they get the cold sweats. I don’t like when people detox during my articles, it lowers my hit counts. Don’t be fooled by the score though, this “Retrograde” experiment isn’t so much a review as it is a stream of consciousness commentary on interesting screenshots from gaming’s past. Sometimes there will be anecdotes or personal stories, other times I will actually discuss the game, and at even other times I’ll probably just make borderline offensive jokes, beat a running gag into the ground, or spoil the ending for you. Think Mystery Science Theater 3000 meets me looking for an excuse to dick around playing awesome retro video games instead of doing real work. This might seem familiar to the three and a third of you who follow me on Tumblr, and it generally seems to entertain one of you, so what the hell, let’s slap a fresh coat of paint on this lemon and call it a Chryslus .

Ah, Fallout. I was around the tender age of 12 when this game came out, and it was one of the first games I can really remember knowing inside and out like it was a warm Tauntaun. I played and beat this game in every possible combination, and fully believe that it deserves it’s place as a near holy relic of those glorious PC gaming salad days. Oh, the 90s, you sure sucked for mainstream music and fashion, but you were awesome for computer RPGs.

For people who haven’t played the original Black Isle (not yet called so) developed Fallout games and are only familiar with the more recent FPS variants of the series, you may be surprised by how familiar a lot of the stuff in this game really seems. Even despite Fallout 1 and 2 being completely different games from a different publisher than Fallout 3 and New Vegas, the attention paid to keeping the lore and atmosphere intact across the entire series is really impressive to look back on.

The plot of Fallout revolves around the Vault Dweller, a member of Vault 13 who is sent into the unknown wasteland to find a replacement for their malfunctioning water chip. What makes the game quite unique, especially for 1997, is that you initially only have 150 days to do it. The wasteland is a huge and dangerous place, so this can be quite challenging on the first playthrough … unless you just Google it or something, but that would make you a time traveler since this game out 13 years ago. You’ve also got to figure that the corpse three feet away from the Vault door probably wasn’t the best first choice for this mission. What possibly could have killed him? Was he deathly allergic to rocks?

All the traveling in the game is viewed through your trusty Pip-Boy, and going from one point to another is what takes the vast majority of time from your main quest. Many of the important destinations can be discovered through talking to NPCs and can help cut your travel time a bit, so it really encourages you to absorb as much of the atmosphere as you can.

At first I thought it seemed really asshole-ish of the Overseer to sit in a huge cyberpunk throne well above the people he is in charge of, but then I realized that in his free time the Overseer fights Sonic the Hedgehog in that thing.

Hey, I didn’t know your mom was in this game. HAH! Burn!

The references to the post apocalyptic inspirations for Fallout are purposely noticeable. Whether it be A Boy and His Dog or Mad Max, you see a lot of little winks and nods to the movies and novels that helped inspire the universe. Two men enter the waist high wooden gated enclosure and one man leaves the waist high wooden gated enclosure.

Darkwaters? Then why isn’t that scantily clad Morrigan chick selling me guns? Wait, that was Darkstalkers. I think I’d rather do my shopping there.

The dialog is one of the strongest points of the game. Fallout brings the wit as well as Wu-Tang brings the ruckus. It’s so hard to resist picking some of the more ridiculous options even though you know they are going to get you into trouble. It makes it easier if you tend to roleplay as a raging asshole though.

Skum Pitt. Still sounds classier than the places I usually go to.

By far, the most impressive part of the first Fallout game is the atmosphere. Every single piece of the game just exudes nuclear wasteland. From the caravans and the trader communes to the insane cults and technology hoarding armies, the aesthetics combine to make this really feel like the retro-futuristic apocalypse it is supposed to be.

Suddenly, I have the overwhelming urge to watch some Troma films.

Meanwhile, on the set of Starship Troopers…

Now I know how my black friend feels anytime he visits the south.

Another aesthetically pleasing strong point is the game’s voice acting. While there isn’t a ton of it, and only a handful of characters have rendered animation or voice acting, the parts that are there are highly professional. You’ll probably be doing the whole, “Where do I know that voice from” thing plenty of times, so to save you some time I’ll get that part over with for you- Hellboy, MacGyver, The Lobe from Freakazoid, Monk, Raymond’s brother from that show about everybody loving him, Childs from The Thing, Bull Shannon, and Mortanius. This has been a public service.

Those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it Boba Fett, stay away from that Sarlacc pit!

The combat plays out in a strategic RPG fashion. Depending on a number of factors, you or your enemy will start the battle, at which point you have a number of action points to spend on things like using your inventory, shooting your weapon, and even reloading. For those who have only ever been exposed to the franchise through Fallout 3 or New Vegas, VATS is present in its original form here and helps to add another level of tactics to the game. The combat isn’t overly deep, although there are a fair amount of weapons to decimate the games various mutated baddies with, but it is certainly deep enough. Oh, and if you said, “That’s what she said,” chop yourself in the throat for me.

One of the best things about Fallout is how organic the world seems. Whether through the rich dialog, clues in the surroundings, or just good ol’ fashion history collectin’, pretty much every aspect of the game you would be curious about is explained or, at least, made to make as much sense as can be made in a world where radioactive ghouls and super mutants roam the land.

This is actually exactly what it looks like when you cross the Benjamin Franklin Bridge into New Jersey.

“You may be a doctor. But I’m the Doctor.”

Like any good game of this type, most of the major quests have plenty of different ways to finish them. There are some hiccups with this, as there seem to be in every Fallout game, and some of the quests are as fragile as Sam Jackson in Unbreakable. The littlest misstep can make quests impossible to finish no matter how far through one you are. Sometimes it is a bit on the realistic side, most people won’t give you money after you make fun of them even if you did kill a horde of raiders, but more often than not it just seems like programming loose ends.

Figures. It’s the end of the world and they still have Republican National Conventions.

Doesn’t this guy know what happened to the last person with a name like “Mr. Handy” when they got sexual? At least he wasn’t asking for a horse right! Haha-

…ha.

In the end, Fallout is really one of the best PC games ever made. In the wasteland of PC gaming, Fallout is living a lavish existence in a cobbled together village with games like Deus Ex, Diablo, and Planescape: Torment. With a ton of concentrated atmosphere, engaging gameplay, and a great story with an appropriately wow-the-world-fucking-sucks-doesn’t-it ending, this is definitely the classic that all the cool kids always said it was. If you haven’t played this, you probably should or else you might lose your geek license. In fact, you should play through it before you even start New Vegas, just like I’m doing. That way you don’t have to write about anything substantial or important and can just make tasteless jokes relating to screenshots you took of a 13 year old game.

I mean, uh, I’m a serious journalist!

Fallout was developed by Black Isle Studios and published by Interplay for DOS, Windows, and eventually the stupid Mac like a hundred years later probably, amirite! The game released in North America, the best America, on September 30th, 1997. The copy used in this review was for Windows and given to me by my dad for Christmas 13 years ago, even though my mom totally wasn’t happy with me playing a mature rated game which probably lead to their divorce or something. Fallout was played until completion infinite times for around My Entire Adolescent Life hours.

Next time: Fallout 2

Fallout: New Vegas Unlimited Ammo, Caps, XP and More!!

Garrett Hartman — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 01:31:56 +0000

Ever wanted infinite Ammo, Weapons, Caps, XP in Fallout Vegas? Have a desire to find Luke Skywalker’s dead aunt and uncle? Use this guide to enhance your New Vegas experience. For Fallout: New Vegas Snow Globes and the Indiana Jones Easter Egg click here. It’s important to note that some of these are bugs so they may not be present in every version of the game.

Unlimited Caps and Items

1 ) Find any shop-based trader and sell him any stuff in your inventory that you don’t need and complete the transaction. This will give him more money.

2 ) Find something in your inventory that you have two of or something that you and the shop keeper both have. Sell an item or two to the trader so he has two of them.

3 ) Check that the two identical items are of different values once they are in the trader’s inventory. The bigger the difference in value, the better.

4 ) Now buy the cheaper of the two identical items and complete the transaction, but do not leave the trade session. Look for the item in your inventory. The item should have gone up in value dramatically and should be 100% repaired, even though when you sold the item initially it wasn’t! If it isn’t 100% repaired for whatever reason, sell the item back to him anyway and repeat steps 3-4, trying a different item if necessary.

5 ) Now you will be able to sell the same item for a high price and buy it back at a low price until you have drained his money completely. If you want, you can hold onto the item as it will be fully repaired — simply keep it on the final round which will leave him with a small amount of money. Either sell the item back to him again once he is out of money, or if you are keeping it, sell him something else of high value and he will owe you that amount. The transaction price will go dim and remain at whatever amount of money he has left.

6 ) Search through the trader’s inventory and find stuff you need. Stimpaks, ammo, miscellaneous item, weapons and armor are all fair game. Eventually, the transaction price will light up again and you may owe him a few caps depending on how much of his stuff you added to the deal. Complete the transaction.

7 ) If you wait three days he will have new stock and around 650 caps. The longer you wait, the more robust his inventory will become and the more caps he’ll have for you to take when you’re ready to do this all over again.

Note: Be sure to save while using this method since the game is prone to crashing during the transaction.

Infinite XP

1 ) You’ll need to have a speech skill level of 50 or higher before attempting this trick. Approach Old Ben who sits by a fire near the King headquarters in Freeside. Persuade him to escort you to the local bar. For beating the Speech Challenge you’ll get 61 XP. Follow him back to the bar and let him sit down. Speak to him again and you can do the Speech Challenge infinitely for unlimited XP.

2 ) This trick requires 30 Speech skill or the Confirmed Bachelor perk and you must be friendly with NCR. Go to HELIOS One and the woman should automatically talk to you. Once she allows you access to HELIOS One, you should be able to start the “That Lucky Old Sun” mission. Proceed with the mission and talk to Fantastic and Ignacio Rivas. While talking to Rivas, make sure you get him to reveal that he is a Follower of the Apocalypse by using Speech or Confirmed Bachelor and agree with his ideals about peace or say you are neutral. Complete the mission regularly until you get to the point where you activate the Mainframe Terminal. Configure the Power Grid to “5 Full Region (Emergency Output Level).” Finish the mission by hitting the Reflector Control Panel outside on top of the tower. Go back to Ignacio Rivas, and choose the “I overloaded the plant. No one …” option. That option will never disappear. Keep selecting that option to get 350 XP, 3 Stimpacks, and 2 Doctor’s Bags.

3 ) Go to Vault 11 and you will get a small quest to find out what happened there. Once you get the overseer’s passcode and enter it into her computer you will be led to the “sacrifical chamber.” Use a stealthboy to get past everyone and when the walls on the left open (as you walk in) go into the door and access the computer mainframe. You will be given 3 options, “Override” and “Download” for 2 conversations. Click on the second download and you get 500 XP. DO NOT EXIT THE MAINFRAME. Simply click it again… another 500 XP. You can do this repeatedly to max out your character.

4 ) You will need a Barter skill of 35 or higher for this. In the southeast corner of the map you will find Cottonwood Cove (alongside the river) you will meet a man named Aurelius of Phoenix (he sometimes wanders off out of the camp). Speak to him and choose to barter with his camp for ammo and supplies. Clicking on this nets you 35 XP but it does not stop conversation and can be continuously clicked for rapid XP gain. Even if you have Vilified yourself with The Legion this exploit still works.

Easter Egg: Aunt Beru and Uncle Owen from Star Wars

A scene resembling the burned corpses of Aunt Beru and Uncle Owen can be found within the town of Nipton out front of a burned down building (Moisture Farm?). It’s a short walk to the right of the town hall’s front entrance.

Wild Wasteland Perk For The Win.

Five Essential PC Mods For Fallout: New Vegas

Dave Oshry — Sun, 24 Oct 2010 22:51:23 +0000

Even though it’s been less than a week since the release of Fallout: New Vegas, the PC modding community is already hard at work making the game better. Being an experienced G.E.C.K user and Fallout/Oblivion modder myself, I decided to head over to the New Vegas Nexus and bring to you five mods that I feel are essential to improving your enjoyment of Fallout: New Vegas.

1. D3d9 Awesome Performance Fix – by Wing Pao Shiggz

1a. D3d9 Awesome Performance Fix – ATI Version – by Aleksei Vasiliev

If you do not yet have this mod, stop whatever you are doing and install it NOW. For whatever reason, this .dll file will increase your frame rates across the board. Nobody is quite sure how or why, but it has something to do with how F:NV detects your video card. Just trust me and install it. You can thank me later.

UPDATE:

Fallout decides its render path based on one of two things. The first is the name of your video card. This is an incredibly bad idea for a number of reasons; Fallout tends to guess information about your card wrong because of this and the result is terrible slowdown. This .dll lies to Fallout about what card you have, resulting in much better performance with no visual quality hit (unless you’re unlucky or Fallout hates you)

Thanks Aleksei!!

2. Centered and Raised 3rd Person Camera -by Jahandar

It’s amazing the difference a camera angle makes on how you see the world of Fallout. With this mod, not only will your character appear in the center of your HUD, but you can also zoom out and get a much better idea of your surroundings. It makes such a difference in the way I explore the wasteland, that I even made my own video depicting the changes. Enjoy:

3. MT UI – by Max Tael

It’s also amazing the difference this essential UI mod makes. By adding smaller fonts, larger item selection areas, improved conversation menus, and a new background texture for speech windows, this mod makes playing on screen resolutions of 1024 x 768 and higher infinitely better.

Note the Improved Background Texture of the Speech Window

You Will Scroll Through Text MUCH Less

4.Realistic Lighting and Color – by Marcurios

This mod makes the world colors more realistic. Similar mods existed for Fallout 3 and this one lives up to those standards. It’s been hundreds of years since the bombs fell, so the world should be a little less brown by now :-) This mod will also make your nights darker and more realistic.

*This mod will only work correctly with HDR enabled, although it does something with bloom in the way of color, it does not affect bloom lighting.

Check out the time lapse video below to see what a day in Goodsprings will look like with this mod.

Not Quite So Bleak Anymore

5. Civil Defense Radio – by Macabre Productions

Now while this mod may not be essential, it sure is awesome. A port of one of the best Fallout 3 radio mods, this mod adds a great new radio station to your Pip Boy 3000.

Hosted by Katrina, the station plays 55 music tracks from the era of the Atomic Threat, including 29 authentic public service announcements from Civil Defense Washington.

The songs, as well as the announcements are downright hilarious and fit the tone of the game perfectly.

CONELRAD (Control of Electromagnetic [or Electronic] Radiation) was a method of emergency broadcasting to the public of the United States in the event of enemy attack. It was intended to serve two purposes; to prevent Soviet bombers from homing in on American cities by using radio or TV stations as beacons, and to provide essential civil defense information on 640-1240.

2 hours, 20 minutes of Music across 55 tracks
22 minutes of PSAs & Civil Defense
Custom station host dialogue

The station is fully scripted as per official stations.

Now, let’s see what the game looks and sounds like when you’ve got all of these mods installed!!

These modders don’t get paid and would greatly appreciate your support. So after you’ve finished downloading them, be sure to leave an endorsement as well as a comment telling them how awesome they are. Also be sure to frequently check back into the New Vegas Nexus for all of your modding needs.

*THIS JUST IN* by popular demand!!

Free Play After The Game Ends – by Goacbc

Although I certainly don’t find this mod essential, and have no issue with New Vegas having a finite ending, it seems as if many people just want to keep wandering the wastes after the main quest has concluded. Very well then, have at it!!

Want to talk about the G.E.C.K or Fallout modding with me? Want to try and convince me to finish my own mods!? Email me at Dave@RipTen.com or follow me @DaveOshry on Twitter.

Modding - So Easy, Even I Can Do It.

Fallout: New Vegas – Snow Globe Locations and Indiana Jones Easter Egg

Garrett Hartman — Sun, 24 Oct 2010 16:28:58 +0000

Bobbleheads are such a DC thing. In New Vegas, snow globes are all the rage. Here are the locations of all the snow globes for the Globe Trotter Achievement/Trophy:

Mt. Charleston Snow Globe – Jacobstown / In the lodge, search the entrance and reception area. This Snow Globe is sitting on a curved desk by some terminals.
Mormon Fort – Old Mormon Fort / Julie Farkas has an office inside a tower at the fort. The Snow Globe is on top of a bookcase here.
Test Site – Lucky 38 Casino / Head to the cocktail lounge and look for the cash register. It’s across from the entrance. The Snow Globe is behind the register.
The Strip – Vault 21 / After you access Sarah’s locked bedroom, grab this Snow Globe off of the table between the two beds.
Nellis AFB – Nellis Air Force Base / Pete’s makeshift museum holds this Snow Globe. It’s on a table in the corner under a mural.
Hoover Dam – Hoover Dam / Search the visitor center for a terminal near two curved desks. The Snow Globe can be found on a desk here.
Goodsprings – Goodsprings Cemetery / Near the water tower is a patch of upturned soil by a small, rectangular grave marker. The Snow Globe is sitting in front of the marker.

Indiana Jones Easter Egg - ’Nuke the fridge’

If you head south on the road out of Goodsprings (about 100 yds) you will come across a refrigerator at the base of a hill with a skeleton inside … wearing Indiana’s famous fadora. Guess hidind in a fridge to survive a nuclear explosion doesn’t work.

Click Here For Fallout: New Vegas Unlimited Ammo, Caps, XP and More!!

Fallout: New Vegas Bug is so Scary, It Makes Heads Spin (Video)

Garrett Hartman — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 14:37:36 +0000

If you thought the Exorcist was scary, wait until you see this. Seriously, couldn’t be more scary if they tried.

I guess Halloween is right around the corner.

Final Fallout: New Vegas Developer Diary – The Characters

Garrett Hartman — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 17:51:00 +0000

Want to get to know the characters you’ll meet in Fallout: New Vegas? What about the celebrity voices behind them? Watch this exciting new video from the developers of Fallout: New Vegas.

Obsidian Talks New Vegas Backstory (Video)

Dave Oshry — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 18:33:34 +0000

Obsidian and BethSoft have released a new developer diary in which the fellas over at Obsidian talk all about what inspired the story of New Vegas.

As you can see, FNV is not going to start you off with a ton of exposition like Fallout 3. Instead it’s much more like previous Fallout games in a sense of, “This is who you are, now GO”

Stay tuned to Ripten for continued coverage of Fallout: New Vegas, as well as for our upcoming in-depth interview with creative director Chris Avellone in which he talks about the past, present and future of Obsidian.

50% off Fallout 3 GOTY On Steam Today

Sam Naylor — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 16:06:49 +0000

As part of the QuakeCon 2010 sale, Fallout 3: Game of the Year Edition is on sale for 24 hours on Steam courtesy of Valve and Bethesda Softworks. If you’ve not already got the game and are wondering what all the New Vegas fuss is about, now’s your chance to grab the game at a decent price.

Fallout 3: Game of the Year Edition includes all of the five officials DLC packs, as well as the full game. It’s available for £14.99/€24.99/$24.99 here. It’s still a little steep, but definitely a decent price for the game and all five DLC addons.

Fallout New Vegas Already Has More Pre-Orders Than Fallout 3

Bryce Wilson — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 08:19:38 +0000

Pre-orders for Bethesda’s latest Fallout title have already surpassed that of the recent Fallout 3, according to the publishers who are quite confident that New Vegas is going to top it’s best selling brother: Fallout 3. Released in October 2008, Fallout 3 received nearly all positive reviews and went on to win numerous awards.

Sarah Seaby, the director of European marketing and PR said;

““Fallout: New Vegas pre-orders are far outstripping those of Fallout 3, based on the feedback from gamers we anticipate fans will enjoy returning to the Fallout universe, where they will experience a new story in an exciting New Vegas setting.”

Maybe I should finally get around to playing Fallout 3, maybe…

And look for our in-depth interview with Fallout: New Vegas lead designer Chris Avellone soon here at Ripten!!

[Source: MCV]