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

ChupathingyX

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Caesar's voice makes him out to be an ordinary guy, not someone who was born into a life of nobility or with a silver spoon in his mouth. The fact that he swears is another indication of this, you'd expect him to be more well-mannered.


AlternatePFG said:
I like that the game is actually discussing philosophy and such, but am I the only one who thinks that Caesar comes off as extremely pretentious here?
Which major faction leader/antagonist in this game doesn't come off as pretentious?

Kimball?
Oliver?
Moore?
House?
Elijah?
Klein?

I also find it funny how nearly every character, including Legion members, talk about how Lanius is nothing but a savage yet when you actually meet him and compare him with Oliver, well...
 

Fangv2

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AlternatePFG said:
Caesar's voice isn't as grand as you would think it is. Not to say the voice acting is bad, for Caesar it's quite decent, it's just that I was not expecting this particular voice.
I think that was the point of the voice-actor. He's set-up(until you meet him) as an enigma. A larger than life figure, that you expect to have this deep, booming, commanding voice that causes you to castrate yourself cause you aren't worthy; only to find out he is this old man who just happened to be a good orator.
 

JamesStone

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Jun 9, 2010
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Cool update. I always end up saving Benny in the playth
AlternatePFG said:
[HEADING=1]Romans and Securitrons[/HEADING]​

Sometimes the game can look rather nice, like in this screenshot with the sunset.


Oh shit, they have artillery?


It doesn't work, however. Good then, let it stay that way. There is a sidequest to fix it, but obviously we're not doing that.


More tents.



We get all our gear back. Good, because we're going to need it.


First we need to interact with this console to open the passageway.





"Why did you send me here?"

"The Platinum Chip is a data-stroage device. I need you to manually upload the data from the Chip to the facility's primary computer. There's a terminal at the other end of this facility. There's a complication. While I can broadcast to this screen, I can't control any of the facility's systems. That means I can't deactivate its security bots... most of which appear to be active, according to the status board I'm looking at."

Eh, what's a few Protectrons? As long as they aren't those stupid, annoying sentry bots, we'll be good.

"What will you do with your Securitrons?"

"My army will do what an army does best - defend territory from invaders... and maintain order."

"I'll upload the data, as you ask."

"Good. I won't hold you up any longer."

House is right and to the point with this conversation. Which is good, because this place is bathed in radiation.


Oh look, a Protectron. We haven't fought one of those in awhile.




If you have a high enough science, you can hack these terminals and make the next part easier for you. It's still a pretty easy segment regardless.


The game is kind enough to hand us some pulse and plasma grenades too.


You probably can't tell what's going on, but it worked.



We randomly picked up a .44 Magnum in here, which is pretty useful weapon.


Grenade Rifle spam go!


Even with terrible explosives it still gets the job done.


Also had a Power Fist in our inventory too, no reason not to use that as well.


When turrets explode, they just disappear. Pictured: I punched a turret so hard, it faded from existence.


This section is a lot harder solo. Usually I forget to tell my companions to follow me again after leaving Caesar's tent, so I'm stuck down here by myself fighting turrets, which are pretty annoying and can get in some good damage on you if they stay alive for too long.



Considering we're the only non-robot entity in here, that's a lot of our blood.


Still don't get why House needs the Platinum Chip to activate this, but whatever.


Hmmm. One single giant laser shooting robot at our command or hundreds of smaller laser shooting robots?


Doing the main quest nets you a lot XP pretty quickly, so naturally we level up.



I use shotguns a lot, so this perk should be of use to us.


Now we go back through the hallways and back up to the Fort.



Well, House seems happy enough. Wonder how Caesar will react.



They seem to think we actually destroyed the generators. Let's keep it that way.


It's nighttime now. We weren't down there that long...


Back in Caesar's tent. It looks significantly cooler at night.


Phew, he fell for it. I was worried we would have to fight our way out of here, which is not an easy task, by the way.

"There are rewards for doing as I command. Today, your reward is vengeance. You get to decide how Benny dies. Go to Benny, let him know what you've decided. My Praetorians will perform the execution - unless you want to perform it yourself."

"Thank you, Caesar."

"Consider it the first of many bestowments."

It would be if we were helping the Legion.


"Hundreds of Securitrons. All of them upgraded now, just like Mr. House wants."

"So all this time the old man had an entire army on lay-away? Clever player."

One of the best thing about this game is that all the factions are working against each other, with different plots to take each particular group out, and it all weaves together into this intricate political plot. I certainly understand why people didn't like it compared to the more personal plotline of Fallout 3 though.

"Just imagine the look on Baldie's face when those Securitrons come pouring out on judgement day! I'd pay to have that bronzed! So all you gotta do now is talk to Yes Man, figure out how to set things in motion. Make Vegas a town I woulda been proud of, baby. Let it swing."

I rather like Benny as a character. Sure, he doesn't have a whole lot of depth, and he is a major dick to you but it's nice to have a villian who isn't the absurd, "I'm going to kick a puppy just for the hell of it" archetype that some games go into.

"I have to decide what happens to you now."

"I see. And how's that gonna happen?"

"I've decided to kill you here and now."

This playthrough we're simply going to shoot Benny. I'm saving the "Kill everyone in the camp and rescue Benny" option for the NCR run.

"I see. Keep it simple, hey? Around here, it's one of the better options..."

"Close your eyes, if you want."

"Nah, I'd rather see it coming. Do it, baby. Make it clean."


What happens afterwards is that I try to pickpocket his gun Maria from him. It doesn't work, so I reload the game like 20 times. Nothing, he catches me every time. So I try a Stealth Boy to steal it from him, no dice. Googling shows that it's impossible to steal Maria from Benny in this area. Why? No clue.

I used console commands to get it. I don't care if it's cheating, this particular choice of game design is stupid. Why didn't they check him for weapons anyway?


Benny's pretty much in the same position we were at the beginning of the game.



That's it for Benny. (It took more than one shot in VATS, not because we suck, because he has a lot of health.)

This offically brings what many consider to be the games first Act to a close. Describing this game in a three act structure is kind of weird. I originally planned on splitting the updates for each playthrough into Acts in the OP, but the problem is that Act 3 is considered to be the Hoover Dam battle so there would only be one or two updates for that particular Act, and the DLC even complicates this further.


Just a fair warning, this is the longest conversation we've had yet in the game. It goes over pretty much all the info Caesar gives on the Legion, so it's pretty extensive.

"Let's press on, shall we? As I was telling you before, I want Mr. House out of the picture."

We're taking Mr. House out, but not because Caesar wants us to.

"You have an interest in his death, too. If he knows that you destroyed his gadgets beneath the Fort, he will strike back. You know where to find him. How he dies, I leave up to you."

"I have some questions for you."

"What did you want to know?"

"Are your bodyguards special in any way?"

"My Praetorians embody the martial ideals of my Legion. Each one of them has done enough conquering and killing to deserve the rank of Centurion."

Those guys are pretty tough, they're not to be fucked around with. Especially once they start wielding Ballistic Fists and 12.7mm Submachine Guns.

"Instead, I invited them to join my guard. So the invitee chooses whichever current guard he thinks is weakest - and challenges him. The fight is to the death. It keeps them from getting complacent."

"How long has Lucius been the head of your Praetorians?"

"Lucius has been the head of my guard for five years now. He was a subordinate guard for eight before that. No invitee has dared to challenge him yet. Maybe it's an issue of respect - he is getting on in years."

"I've heard rumors of your legate, Lanius? What's his story?"

"Lanius is the greatest of my battlefield commanders. Some might call him a great man, but I'm not sure he qualifies."

Even Caesar is somewhat scared of Lanius.

"Once, he was the greatest warrior of the Hidebarks, a tribe of the Arizona. Maniacal in battle. Sometimes he'd ambush Legion patrols by himself. When, after several months we found and surrounded the Hidebarks' camp, their Chieftain raised a banner of surrender. The warrior who was not yet Lanius went insane with rage. He struck down his Chieftain and attacked his own tribe."

"What happened when Lanius attacked his own tribe?"

"He killed fifteen before they brought him down. He didn't die, obviously. I had him tended to. He was maimed, most of his face torn off. It was days before he regained consciousness. When he did, I went to his bedside and showed him the helmet I'd had forged to cover his face. I said he could have it if he'd fight for me. He accepted... on condition that he be allowed to kill the surviving males of his tribe."

This guy is fucked up.

"I said, make it the adult males and you have a deal."

"He sounds more like a savage than a general."

"Lanius is savage. Savagely loyal, too, but only to me - he has no love for my Legion. But this has its uses. He has no attachment to his men, no compunction about battlefield losses. All he cares about is destroying the enemy. When another legatus or a Centurion fails to achieve results, I send Lanius to make things right. His first step is to beat the failed commander to death in front of his assembled troops. Then he orders the ritual of decimatio."

"What is "decimatio?"

"It means "decimation" but in ancient Rome the word had a very specific meaning - a punishment for cowardice. The Legionaries are lined up in ranks. Every tenth man steps forward and is beaten to death by his brothers."

Mr. New Vegas talked about this over the radio.

"It instills a certain... robust obedience."

"Lanius will lead the assualt on Hoover Dam?"

"Yes. This time my Legionaries will be more frightened of the commander behind them than the enemy before them. There will be no failure this time, no retreat, no years of gathering slaves and resources for another assault. With Lanius to drive the Legion forward, the dam will be taken. It will be our bridgehead across the Colorado."

"Why did the Legion lose the first battle?"

"It's not going to happen again. That's all I have to say about it."

It's a touchy subject for Caesar.

"I've heard the commander of the first battle called "The Burned Man.""

"And I've heard it's a bad idea to tempt the wrath of Caesar. Change the subject."

"Tell me about Vulpeas Inculta."

Vulpes was the guy at Nipton with the dog hat and Legion spy who talked to us on the Strip.

"Vulpes is the best of my Frumentarii. A remarkable individual from an unremarkable tribe south of the Utah. He was brought into the Legion as a boy, survived training, fought well enough as Legionary to be promoted to the rank of Decanus. Then, in battle against an unimportant tribe, he broke ranks and led his contubernium through a hole in their defenses to capture its chieftain. Well, his Centurion wanted him crucified for disobedience. So I made him a Frumentari."

All this Latin is getting annoying.

"What do the Frumentarii do?"

"Whatever I require. Infiltration, assassination, dramatic atrocities to break the spirit of the enemy - et cetera. They're mentally flexible. They operate behind enemy lines for extended periods, imitating the enemy's customs without becoming sullied. In all these things, Vulpes is a master."

"How did you capture Benny?"

"I'll hand it to that piece of shit, he was determined. He used some kind of Old-World stealth device to get across the river in a Legion boat."

Oh come on Caesar, a man so educated as yourself must have heard about stealth boys. They're all the rage in the Mojave Wasteland, especially among Nightkin. Not in the Capital Wasteland though, they have their fancy stealth suits, pfft.

"Seems the device ran out of juice once he got here, but he was dressed like a Legionary. He was caught just outside the weather station. See, thing is, he didn't change his hairstyle."

Bahahaha.

"To go through all that effort and fail because you're too vain to muss your hair..."

"What happened after Benny was caught?"

"He was brought before me, along with the Platinum Chip. That's how I knew he wasn't some kind of Profligate infiltrator. Benny tried to sell me a story, but Lucius has a way of coaxing the truth out of captives. Everything just comes spilling out."

What was his story I wonder? "I left my glasses in this mysterious bunker of yours, can I go get them?"

"What do you think of the NCR?"

"Do you want my opinion as a former citizen, or future conqueror? Actually, my opinion's the same either way. As a young man I was taught to venerate President Tandi of Shady Sands."

Tandi was an NPC you met in Fallout 1, who would get kidnapped by the Great Khans. You had to go rescue her, and from her town Shady Sands, apparently she started this huge democracy.

"'The Founding Mother of the New California Republic.' Did you know her Presidency lasted 52 years? And that her father, Aradesh, was the Republic's first President? Does that sound like a democracy to you, or a hereditary dictatorship?"

"President Tandi was voted into office each time."

"Because the council didn't dare oppose her. She was too popular. She had the people's love. So things ran smoothly, more or less. And as soon as she was gone, as soon as there really could be "democracy" - what happened then? Ever since losing its queen, the NCR has been weaker, more diffuse. Democracy has been its weakness, not its strength."

"How is the NCR weak?"

"Greed runs rampant. The government is corrupt, accepting bribes from Brahmin barons and landowners, to the detriment of citizens. The NCR is a loose conglomerate of individuals looking out for themselves. It's lost virtue. No one cares about the collective, the greater good. It's not built to last. I'm just hastening the inevitable."

What's ironic about Caesar saying this is that there are a lot of NPC's in the game that point out that after Caesar dies, the Legion will be thrown into disarray because they won't have a designated leader to control them.

"Surely, the NCR is a powerful foe?"

"Of course. The most powerful my Legion has faced. Also the first to which I am ideologically opposed. Until now, every tribe I've conquered has been so backwards and stunted, enslavement has been a gift bestowed upon them. My conquest of the Mojave will be a glorious triumph, marking the transition of the Legion from a basically nomadic tribe to a genuine empire. Just as my namesake campaigned in Gaul before he crossed the Rubicon, so have I campaigned, and will cross the Colorado."

"What do you know about Mr. House?"

"I know he's a coward, hiding behind an army of robots, ensconced in that tower of his like a wizard in one of those Grognak comic books."

Sometimes I wish the skillbooks and magazines in these games were readable.

"Some say he's a man, others a machine. I don't care. He's in the way."

"How did you rise to power?"

"Ironically, I was born a Profligate myself, a citizen of the NCR. My family lived not far from the great Boneyard. After Raiders killed my father, my mother sought the Followers' protection. I was two years old. She found work at their Library, cooking and cleaning. I learned how to read and soon I was taking courses, free of charge."

"You were a Follower of the Apocalypse?"

"Oh yes, raised in that tradition. And the teaching stuck. I was taught it was my responsibility to bring the torch of knowledge to the wastes. I may have taken the torch part more literally than they intended."

"What changed you from a Follower to dictator?"

"When I was 20, the Followers sent me East to Grand Canyon. It was my first expedition, just me and a physician named Calhoun. As an anthropologist and linguist, my assignment was to learn the dialects of the Grand Canyon tribes. What a fucking waste of time!"

"Why would learning dialects be a waste of time?"

"If you think it's worthwhile to make smart people learn how to talk like backward savages, you're a Follower of the Apocalypse... or an idiot. Anyway, we met up with a Mormon missionary who already knew a bunch of dialects - Joshua Graham. He was supposed to teach me. But before that went too far, the Blackfoot tribe captured us, to hold us for ransom. They were a backward bunch. But the real problem was, they didn't know how to fight."

Then how did they capture you?

"What was wrong with the Blackfoot?"

"The Blackfoot were at war with seven other tribes, each just as pissant as they were. But outnumbered like that, they weren't going to last long. It's one thing to be taken hostage, another to be lashed to a sinking ship. So over Calhoun's objections, I decided to take certain steps."

"What steps did you take?"

"I taught them how to use the guns they already had - how to strip and clean them, how to breathe when pulling a trigger, how to reload ammunition. They looked at me like I was some kind of a sorcerer. so I taught them how to make explosives, and started drilling them on small unit tactics. If there's anything I learned as a Follower of the Apocalypse, it's that there's a lot of good information in old books."

"What happened after you trained the Blackfoot?"

"Divide et impera - divide and conquer. I led the Blackfoot against the Ridgers, their weakest enemy. When they refused to surrender, I ordered every man, woman, and child killed. When next we surrounded the Kaibabs and they likewise refused... I took one of their envoys to the Ridgers' village and showed him the corpse piles. This was new for the tribes, you see. They played at war, raiding each other, a little rape and pillage here, a little ransoming there. I showed them total warfare. Like I said, there's a lot you can learn from old books."

"What happened to the tribes?"

"The Kaibabs joined me, and the Fredonians after that - all the pissant tribes, with names that should be forgotten. I knew from the start I'd need to eradicate this plague of tribal identities, replacing them with a monolithic culture, a uniform identity. So that's what I did, once my confederation of tribes was large enough. I crowned myself Caesar and created a single Great Tribe - my Legion. I sent Calhoun, the Follower captured with me, back West with a message that I should not be interfered with. Joshua Graham, the Mormon interpreter, stayed with me and served as my first Legatus."

"And since forming the Legion, all you've done is conquer other tribes?"

"That's right. Decades of warfare, absorbing lesser tribes, gathering power. Forging the dross into a vast, razor-sharp scythe. My Legion's expansion has never ceased. Much of the Utah and Colorado, and all of Arizona and New Mexico, are mine. We have cities of our own, but nothing compared to Vegas. Finally, my Legion will have its Rome."

Eh, Vegas isn't that impressive. It's just like 4 nice buildings and a bunch of rubble.

"Why is Caesar's Legion so... strange?"

"I used imperial Rome as the model for my Legion precisely because it was so foreign, so alien. I'd seen what had become of the NCR's attempts to emulate the culture of Pre-War America - the in-fighting, the corruption. Rome was a highly militarized autocracy that effectively integrated the foreign cultures it conquered. It dedicated its citizens to something higher than themselves - to the idea of Rome itself. In Rome I found a template for a society equal to the challenges of the post-apocalyptic world - a society that could and would survive. A society that could prevent mankind from fracturing and destroying itself in this new world, by establishing a new Pax Romana."

"What does "Pax Romana" mean?"

"It means a nationalist, imperialist, totalitarian, homogenous culture that obliterates the identity of every group it conquers. Long-term stability at all costs. The individual has no value beyond his utility to the state, whether as an instrument of war, or production."

"So you'll destroy the NCR because you hate its inefficiencies?"

"No, I'll destroy it because it's inevitable that it be destroyed. It's Hegelian Dialectics, not personal animosity."

"Hegelian Dialectics? What are those?"

I like that the game is actually discussing philosophy and such, but am I the only one who thinks that Caesar comes off as extremely pretentious here?

"How do I put this basically enough? It's a philosophical theory, the kind you might encounter if you took time to read some books.

Hey, according to the GECK, we have a higher intelligence stat than you.

"The fundamental premise is to envision history as a sequence of "dialectical" conflicts. Each dialectic begins with a proposition, a thesis... which inherently contains, or creates, its opposite - an antithesis. Thesis and antithesis. The conflict is inevitable. But the resolution of the conflict yields something new - a synthesis - eliminating the flaws in each, leaving behind common elements and ideas."

"So what's "dialectic" about you and the NCR?"

"The bombs wiped the slate clean. Human civilization descended to a level of ignorance that effectively set our cultural progress back to zero. The NCR has all of the problems of the ancient Roman Republic - extreme bureaucracy, corruption, extensive senatorial infighting. Just as with the ancient Republic, it is natural that a military force should conquer and transform the NCR into a military dictatorship. Thesis and antithesis. The Colorado River is my Rubicon. The NCR council will be eradicated, but the new synthesis will change the Legion as well..."

Hopefully into something less pointlessly misogynistic.

"From a basically nomadic army to a standing military force that protects its citizens, and the power of its dictator."

Well, that was an enlightening conversation. Okay, what he's created may do some horrible things, but Caesar himself doesn't seem nearly as bad as the people around him. Hell he seems almost reasonable-

"I'm done working for you."

"Mark my words, you piece of shit. This is the last time you will ever refuse to perform an order I've given you. If you meant what you said, you best be on your way, and at good speed. And forget all that I could have given you. If you ever - ever - disobey me again, I will order my Praetorians to hack you to death with their machetes for my entertainment."

Welp, we're outta here.


Caesar doesn't become hostile if you say this, which is good. I've never came back and defied him again just to piss him off though. We're definitely not doing anything for the Legion this playthrough - in fact, I plan on returning here very soon and putting a boot up Caesar's ass.


Might as well return to the Strip.
Cool update. I always end up saving Benny in my 6 playthroughs, because I never ever played the Legion option. Always either NCR or House. And with the Benny Returns mod, the guy always ends up as a companion.

So, after this playthrough are you gonna do NCR, House or Legion? And how do you plan to do it?
 

DustyDrB

Made of ticky tacky
Jan 19, 2010
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ChupathingyX said:
Which major faction leader/antagonist in this game doesn't come off as pretentious?

Kimball?
Oliver?
Moore?
House?
Elijah?
Klein?

I also find it funny how nearly every character, including Legion members, talk about how Lanius is nothing but a savage yet when you actually meet him and compare him with Oliver, well...
You're right. Sawyer even changed Moore's karma to Evil in his mod.

The Legion is sort of inverse from the NCR. The NCR is full of decent people (with a few bad apples like Contreras, but you find more ruthless/selfish people the higher up you go in the ranks (Moore and Oliver. Alice McLafferty also counts considering her company's close ties to the faction). The Legion is full of assholes, but some of the people at or near the top are much more reasonable (Caesar and Lucius).
 

AlternatePFG

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Jan 22, 2010
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[HEADING=1]A Change in Management[/HEADING]​
We're on a roll. We finally track down Benny, chase him out of the Mojave and finally finish him at the Legion's camp. Why end it there? There is another problem we have to do deal with if we want Yes Man to take control of Vegas for us.


We're back in Vegas, ready to give House his Platinum Chip back. Obviously things are a bit more complicated than that, but that's the gist of the plan.


The Strip looks a lot better at night. During the day it looks rather brown and bland, with all the lights turned off.


I didn't realize that you could talk to her again after doing the sidequest for her.

"It was all biometric data, life signs from Mr. House. The technology he's using is so advanced that it samples data hundreds of times per second. It's fascinating, but depressing. Whatever technology he has can't possibly be practical for the people out here."

It really isn't practical in general.

"How long have you been with the Followers?"

"About five years now. I have family back in Arroyo, but this where all of the good work is being done, so to speak."

Lot's of references to Arroyo, the village that the Vault Dweller established and the starting town and home of the Chosen One in Fallout 2. It was pretty much a tribal village at the time, they don't really mention how its changed.

"NCR taxes and inflation have been hard for a lot of people to deal with, and most of the money is going to the war effort. There's not much funding for medical research with OSI or any other group - not unless it has a military application, anyway."

"What do you do around here?"

"I'm interested in medicine, but it's not my strong suit. I try to help out with any computer issues the Followers have. That's why I was helping otu with the research into Mr. House's technology. Trying to, anyway."

"Is there another way to get Mr. House's data?"

"After two tries, I think I've learned enough. I'm sure there's something more promising I could be helping the other Followers with. Uh... oh yeah, I didn't tell you about the first time. I'd rather not talk about it, if you don't mind."

"[Speech 35] Hey, I risked a lot to get you that data feed."

"[SUCCEEDED] True. All right. The first try was a little less "professional". Someone important on the Strip had access to some of House's technology."

Yes Man already mentioned Benny getting help from a Follower on the Strip, and since Emily is the only Follower of the Apocalypse on the Strip, you can connect the dots.

"Specifically, a Securitron. And more specifically, the "someone" was Benny. I know, I know... he shot you in the head and everything."

Wait, people know that now? That's pretty cool, I guess.

"But this was a while ago. I knew he was sleazy, but I didn't realize he was so cold-blooded."

"Did Benny say why he had the Securitron?"

"He sure didn't. Benny was pretty tight-lipped and cryptic about the thing, but he did let me poke around in it for a while. I would up helping Benny a lot more than he helped me. Once he had access to the Securitron's memory banks, he kicked me out of the Tops."

That sounds like Benny.

"Big surprise, right? I should have seen that coming."

"What did he have you do?"

"The Securitron was disabled somehow. Might have been an EMP, given some of the damage I saw. Anyway, he wanted it re-enabled and connected to Mr. House's data network. The trick was getting it to be invisible on the network. If Mr. House detects a "rogue" Securitron in his system, he remotely fries it. Getting around that security feature was a bit tricky."

"You didn't think to tell anyone about this?"

"Yes, strange as it sounds, I figured that bad mouthing one of the Strip's most powerful people wasn't a good idea."

Yeah, that particular dialogue choice is pretty stupid.

"The only reason I'm telling you any of this is because he's gone now."

"Goodbye."

"See you when I see you."

The Followers are never extremely relevant to the main plotline of the game, but they're involved in quite a few sidequests in this game, and one of your potential companions is a Follower of the Apocalypse.


Back up to the Penthouse... Actually, first we're taking a stop at the lounge I never showed before.


I'm still not actually showing it off here - I'm saving exploring the Lucky 38 for a side update.

We just want to pick something up real fast here.


Yoink! We need that snowglobe for something coming right up.



"Who are you?"

"I'm Jane, one of Mr. House's girls. We keep him... entertained."

Maybe Veronica was right about the robot sex slaves...?

"We don't get many guests lately; perhaps we can entertain you as well."

"Can you tell me about Mr. House?"

"Why, sugar, he's the maximum utmost! If it weren't for Mr. House, we wouldn't have this fabulous wonderland of New Vegas, would we?"

"I didn't realize robots could have such strong feelings about people."

"Sugar, I may be a robot on the outside, but on the inside, my neuro-computational matrix is an exact copy of Mr. House's favorite girl."

Holy shit that's disturbing.

"So you're... a copy of a dead woman? What exactly do you do for Mr. House?"

"Mr. House has a lot of needs, sugar. I take care of all of them, and a lady doesn't kiss and tell."

"I really don't want to think about that."

The guy is a freaking living corpse practically.

"Then maybe you shouldn't pry into a lady's particulars, hmm?"

"Sounds like you're pretty fond of him."

"Well, of course I am, silly! Mr. House is just the smartest, most wonderful man there ever was!"

I swear, all the faction leaders in this game are all narcissistic in their own different ways.

"Why, did you know he single-handedly reclaimed New Vegas from all those nasty tribes that used to live here? Well, he single-handedly sent in his Securitrons to do it, but that counts in my book."

"What's with the snowglobe collection?"

"Not many people know this, but Mr. House is one of the world's biggest collectors of antique snow globes!"

Well, there are still people creating Nuka-Cola collections, so I can understand an eccentric millionaire having a hobby or two.

"If you happen to find any out in the Wasteland, you can bring them to me and I'll add them to his collection! You'll get a reward, of course."

2000 caps per snowglobe, so already we have 4 times as much caps from the snowglobes than retrieving the Platinum Chip.

"In fact, one of Mr. House's favorites went missing when we moved the collection. If you have a look around the Lucky 38, you might even find it!"

That was the one in the lounge.


"Here you go. "

"Such a small thing, isn't it? And yet so... capacious. So very dear."

Bear in mind he's been waiting 200 years for this chip.

"Decades of hiring salvagers out west to search for this little relic in the ruins of a place called Sunnyvale. Back then, anyway. That's where the Chip was printed, on October 22, 2077. It was to have been hand-delivered to me here, at the Lucky 38, the next day. But the bombs fell first. Suffice it to say, the delivery was never made."

"What does the Chip, do exactly?"

"Yes, so far as you've seen, all it does is change the picture on the Securitrons' face screens from policemen to soldiers."

And that's all it does. Nothing else.

"But as you'll see... Some things are more easily shown than told. Take the elevator all the way down to the bottom level, and you'll see what I mean. Don't worry, you'll like what you see. We have much to accomplish, you and I..."


Afterwards we immediately faded to black and are teleported to the basement. The game rarely this kind of stuff to you usually.


House has a shooting range in the basement of the Lucky 38 to test out his Securitrons.


Ooooh, free stuff.


The Securitrons are pretty resilient as it is.




Not really. It's not like most players would ever have a reason to pick a fight with a Securitron and if they did, they certainly wouldn't be siding with House.



So basically the Platinum Chip is like a firmware update.


I prefer the 1.5 OS myself.




Not picking a fight with any Securitrons anymore, that's for sure...





"I've since broadcast the upgrade to every Securitron in range of my transmitters, and I must say, it's causing quite a stir down on the Strip!"

"Why show your hand like that? Now your enemies kow what you're up to."

"I'm surprised you can still underestimate me after everything we after everything you've seen. I haven't shown my hand - I've shown one card. I've given my enemies a single, provocative datum upon which to fixate. They have no idea what other cards I'm holding. It's a strong hand, believe me - I dealt it to myself."

"You think your Securitrons can defeat Caesar's Legion 'and' the NCR?"

"Why would I want to go to war against the NCR? They're my best customers. If their leaders weren't scheming to steal Vegas out from under me, I'd have no troubles with the NCR at all."

The NCR wants to assassinate House as well, just like the Legion.

"The foundation is laid. My Securitrons on the Strip are upgraded, and those at the Fort, ready for action. Now it's just a matter of adjusting the attitudes of some lesser groups while we wait for Caesar's Legion to attack Hoover Dam."

This is the basic idea of all the different faction questlines. You're pretty much dealing with the same groups, but in different ways.

"I'm surprised you haven't asked what became of Benny."

"That's because he ceased to be relevant when you recovred the Platinum Chip. Revenge doesn't interest me, progress does. Sorry to deny you a moment of primate triumph, but you'll have to go elsewhere to sound your barbaric yawp."

It's so hard for me to get through a whole playthrough without killing this guy. The other factions give better rewards and perks in general in comparison to House, and House is just a massive asshat who goes out of his way to outright insult your intelligence. I don't remember how many playthroughs it took me to actually do a full House one.

"I should let you know I planted a surveilance device on one of your data terminals."

Since we don't want to work with him anymore, might as well piss him off as much as possible.

"Yes. I know. It was detected immediately and deactivated... let's see... 39.735 seconds after you planted it. You thought I wouldn't notice?"

This ends the conversation abruptly, and we level up, cause the game was waiting for the conversation to end before it leveled us up.



By the next level, all of our main skills will be in the 80's already.


"It was a place of splendor. As magnificent as today's Strip may seem, it's but a shadow of the neon paradise that was Las Vegas."

Like I've said many times before, New Vegas really isn't that impressive.

"I grew up not far from here, and though I traveled the old world extensively, I never found another place like it."

"You say that you saved Las Vegas. How?"

"By 2065 I deemed it a mathematical certainty that an atomic war would devastate the Earth within 15 years. Every projection I ran confirmed it. I knew I couldn't "save the world," nor did I care to. But I could save Vegas, and in the process perhaps, save mankind."

House is dead set on the idea that Vegas holds the potential to start civilization back up again, then somehow he can turn the city into an economic powerhouse to launch an empire.

"I set to work immediately. I thought I had plenty of time to prepare. As it turned out, I was 20 hours short."

"What preparations did you make to save Las Vegas?"

"On the day of the Great War, 77 atomic warheads targeted Las Vegas and its surrounding areas. My networked mainframes were able to predict and force-transmit disarm code subsets to 59 warhaeads, neutralizing them before impact. Laser cannons mounted on the roof of the Lucky 38 destroyed another 9 warheads. The rest got through, though none hit the city itself."

That's why there are some pretty irradiated areas away from the city, but the closer you get, the less you have to deal with the radiation.

"A sub-optimal performance, admittedly. If only the Platinum Chip had arrived a day sooner..."

"Why didn't the Platinum Chip arrive on time?"

"The Platinum Chip was printed in Sunnyvale, California on October 22nd, 2077 - the day before the Great War. It was to have been delievered by courier the following afternoon... but by then, the world had ended. The Chip contained vital software upgrades, but not just for my Securitrons. Every aspect of the missile defense grid would have been upgraded, too. Given that I had to make do with buggy software, the outcome could have been worse. I nearly died as it was."

"How did you nearly die, defending Vegas?"

"Software glitches set off a cascade of system crashes. I had to take the Lucky 38's reactor offline, lest it melt down. For nearly five years I battled power outages and more system crashes until I finally managed to reboot my data core with an older version of the OS. I spent the next few decades in a veritable coma. But I survived, obviously - and eventually thrived."

"What's the deal with the snowglobe collection?"

"What of it? I enjoy them. There's something about a little diorama set inside a glass dome that I... find pleasing. If you run across any out in the wastes, turn them in to Jane. She'll compensate you. What else did you want to discuss?"

"What are your plans for New Vegas?"

"I've resurrected Vegas, spirit intact. What I need now is the ability to enforce my rightful claim. Not just against Caesar's Legion, by the way. In fact, the NCR is a more present and insidious threat."

"How do you intend to enforce your claim on the city?"

"To enforce, one must have force - a position of strength. Years ago, when I detected NCR scouts roaming the Mojave, I could tell from their uniforms that these were no mere tribesmen. I knew it was only a matter of time before an army appeared, to take control of the dam. And I knew my Securitrons wouldn't be enough to oppose them. And so I recruited the Three Families. Vegas belongs to me because I mustered enough strength to bring the NCR to the bargaining table."

"Wasn't the NCR's army big enough to defeat your Securitrons and the Three Families?"

"Indeed it was - and still is. But not without taking significant casualties. Would Kimball and Oliver have traded the lives of hundreds of soldiers for absolute control of Hoover Dam? Oh yes. They weren't afraid of me, they were afraid of Caesar - that attacking me would leave them vulnerable to a Legion offensive. And so they negotiated. Not out of the kindness of their hearts, as they try to make it seem. Because the calculus of power left no other choice."

"What were the terms of your treaty with the NCR?"

"NCR forces were permitted to occupy Hoover Dam and establish a military base at McCarran Airport. Well, it used to be one. They recognized my sovereignty over the Vegas Strip and agreed to supply electricity and water once their engineers repaired the dam. Written into the treaty were provisions that the NCR do nothing to prevent its soldiers and civilians from visitng the Strip. That's how I harnessed the NCR to my endeavor. Their occupation has been the engine of my growing economy."

"You would go to war against the NCR?"

"The salient issue is that they will go to war with me, if given the chance. There's just one reason why the NCR hasn't contrived some outrage to justify invading the Strip - Caesar's Legion. The finall battle between those two armies is fast approaching. I can't afford to let either side win on their terms."

"Say you keep control of New Vegas. What happens next?"

"New Vegas is more than a city - it's the remedy to mankind's derailment. The city's economy is a blast furnace in which can be forged the steel of a new rail line, running straight to a new horizon. What is the NCR? A society of people desperate to experience comfort, ease, luxury... A society of customers. With all that money pouring in? Give me 20 years, and I'll reignite the high technology development sectors. 50 years, and I'll have people in orbit."

You might be exaggerating a bit.

"100 years, and my colony ships will be heading for the stars, to search for planets unpolluted by the wrath and folly of a bygone generation."

I like some of Houses dialogue, mostly when he isn't trying to come across as a smug prick. He is certainly an interesting character, and out of all the three major factors, up front he seems like he might be the best choice for Vegas. Then the epilogue rolls by and you're like "What the fuck happened?"

"In the meantime, you'd rule Vegas as some kind of dictator?"

"I prefer the term "autocrat." I would rule as a chief executive. I would not answer to a board of directors or any other entity. Nothing to impede progress. If you want to see the fate of democracies, look out the windows."

"What's to keep you from abusing your power?"

"My judgement. I have no interest in abusing others, just as I have no interest in legislating or otherwise dictating what people do in their private time. Nor have I any interest in being worshipped as some kind of machine god messiah. I am impervious to such corrupting ambitions. But autocracy? Firm control in the hands of a technological and economic visonary? Yes, that Vegas shall have."

There is a dialogue option about where does New Vegas get its electricity, but he just responds with a smug "The Hoover Dam, what else would it be?"

Admittedly, it is a stupid question.

"How will the NCR defend Hoover Dam?"

"General Oliver's strategy - or "tunnel vision," as I like to call it - has been to mass troops at Hoover Dam. He wants to out-fight the Legion in a straight-forward slugging match, and then, when they rout, pursue and destroy them in detail. A crushing, decisive victory of this sort would overshadow the tactical ingenuity of Chief Hanlon's defense four years ago, you see."

We will be meeting Chief Hanlon later in the game in a mostly unrelated to the rest of the game sidequest.

"What's your battle plan for the Dam?"

"A good deal should be obvious to you by now."

Rush everyone with Securitrons, got it.

"I won't spoil the rest by talking out of turn."


Well, let's give House a piece of our mind.


Stealth Boy equipped, because I don't want to get mulched by rockets.


Use this terminal to open a secret passage to a side elevator that leads to House.


Now they're hostile. Let's slowly sneak past them and avoid getting spotted.


Take the elevator down to House's chamber.


This is hardly a grand office or something of the sort that would think he has.


Mr. House has been kept alive all these years through some sort of cryostatis pod thing. He has decayed to the point being like a skeleton, and all that is keeping him alive is the life support system from the Lucky 38.




So it turns out House is just practically a feeble skeleton in a tube.

"It's just business."

"If personal gain... what you sought... should've done... as asked..."

"Time for you to die, Mr. House."

You can put House back in the tube, unable to control anything but it is said he'll die within a year from exposure anyway, and he'll be unable to do anything other than wait to die. That sounds pretty cruel to me. Yet, killing him gives bad karma. (I'm not sure which option gives more or less, so I can understand that killing him would net bad karma)

"May there be... a hell... for you... a Tartarus... bleak, unending..."

Stop being so melodramatic.


So, that's it for House. Obviously the Securitrons don't automatically all shut down. They aren't hostile towards us anymore, however.

Victor and Jane also disappear permanently.


We still have Very Good karma, which is nice I guess. Not sure where we got it.


Now let's go get Yes Man.


He is hanging just outside The Tops.


"I'm ready for you to join me at the Lucky 38."

"You already took care of Mr. House? Wow, you work fast! Mr. House is out of the picture and you have the Platinum Chip? Wonderful! Let's go!"


So we just follow Yes Man back to the Lucky 38.





So now, Yes Man is in charge of everything. He basically replaces House for all intents and purposes, but his quest line plays out differently in some ways.


"Every Securitron on the network has been upgraded. Pretty neat, huh?"

He just comments on the fact that we already had the Securitrons upgraded. If we installed Yes Man before the upgrade, we would basically get the same dialogue as House but from Yes Man.

"The Securitrons at the Fort are on standby... I see a status log here confirming that the Mark II OS upgrade installed correctly... They'll be all set to go once we boost my transmitting power and bring them online with the network! But we'll worry about that later!"

"Goodbye."

"Come back later if you need anything!"

So, I think we've done enough work to deserve a vacation from the Mojave. I hear the Sierra Madre Casino is nice this time of year...
What did you think of Mr. House?

Lots of dialogue in recent updates, sorry about that. It's just that the NPC's in the game spend quite a bit of time giving their spiels about politics and all that. Not that that is a bad a thing, but it makes transcribing the dialogue quite lengthy.

There is going to be a quick mini-update, and then it's onto Dead Money.
 

DustyDrB

Made of ticky tacky
Jan 19, 2010
8,365
3
43
Nothing wrong with lots of dialogue. It's interesting stuff, even if you've played the game as much as I have. House was interesting. He was very condescending, but I guess he has good reason to feel that way. Even I - the bastion of modesty and virtue that I am - would gloat a bit if I had devised a way to save a region from a major nuclear strike, preserve myself for hundreds of years, jump-start an economy in the post-apocalypse, and create a personal army of death bots.

I felt guilty when I killed him, actually. But it was earned, because I was not sneaky on my first playthrough. And those upgraded Securitrons hurt. Soooo many crippled limbs in such a short time, and I was playing on hardcore mode.
 

Dr_Horrible

New member
Oct 24, 2010
421
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what did you think of Mr. House?
I actually liked Mr. House quite a bit. He is a dick, but he's interesting and seems, at first, to be the best choice for Vegas.
I still feel kind of bad every time I kill him.
 

AlternatePFG

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Jan 22, 2010
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[HEADING=1]Exploring the Lucky 38 and The Strip[/HEADING]​
Since I really haven't really slowed down to actually explore anything, I thought it might be good to have a few side updates that show off the different casions and buildings in the New Vegas Strip.


The Lucky 38 is probably the most colorful of all the casinos in the game. That's probably because it's in been in pristine condition unlike the other casinos. The Lucky 38 is completely empty, as many people have stated before, besides the obvious Securitrons, no one has entered the Lucky 38 in 200 years. We (and the companions we send here) are the only people that inhabit this building, so everything is pretty much untouched. It's more sophisticated than the Tops, but less creepy than the Ultra Luxe.

It's also probably the most detailed of all of the casinos.


This is the check in desk. Obviously not in use anymore.


I assume the poker chips in these slots were to show who was checked in or something along those lines.




All of these slot machines going to waste, it's a damn shame.



If you really needed money, you can loot all the valuable stuff in here, and I'm certainly you would make quite a decent profit.


Lot's of neat little posters and pictures. Too bad everything other than the headlines is illegible.




Believe it or not, we're actually going to come across a Dean Domino quite soon.


This is another one of the terminals Obsidian patched in because they fucked up some of the coding for companions. Basically lets you remotely fired them in case they're glitched out, so that they'll show up back where they're supposed to be. In theory anyway, I've never had to use it.


Oh look, a door...


Nope, inaccessible.



This door leads to the room behind the cashiers desk.


Lots of empty gun cabinets on the left.


so much useless money...


The other safes actually have some surprising decent loot. Sure House won't mind if we take this-

Oh wait, he's dead.



Now to check out the VIP Lounge above the cashier's desk...



Just another bar type area, nothing really major here. Well, except for one thing.


The Golden Gloves are a unique unarmed weapon. They're better than the boxing glvoves, and instead of doing normal damage, they do fatigue damage. The idea is that instead of killing enemies, they knock them out. Let's test it out...




The Securitron right there doesn't even care that we just knocked that one unconcious. (Or the robot equivalent of unconcious anyway)


I don't know if they're dead or fatigued.

They went down in a surprisingly little amount of punches.


Now for the Presidential Suite. It's a lot more impressive than the Megaton house and the Tenpenny Tower Suite from Fallout 3.


This is your room. Quite nice, isn't it?


Cept for the bedsheets. Bleh.



This is the dining room. Too bad you can't actually have your companions sit down here and eat anything. All they do is just kind of randomly wander around the place.


Holy shit, a billards table.


That's not enough for pool balls for an actual game.



This is where all the snowglobes you collect are stored. Like the bobblehead stands in Fallout 3.


A bathroom. Not really much to say other than that.


And another just spare bedroom thing.


This terminal can be used to buy upgrades for the suite.


I don't know why all of the extra storage space is really nessecary but whatever. Extra storage is better than no storage.


We buy it all, cause why not. Isn't too expensive anyway.


This chest is where I'm going to be storing all my weapons and such. I am going to be using the suite rather than the Novac motel, mostly because I don't use the Lucky 38 that much, and I like the way it looks in here better anyway.


We got a workbench to use if we need it. Let's check the cocktail lounge.



There is literally nothing of significance in this lounge. It's a shame, I like the way it looks.


This is what it looks like at night, by the way.


Now we're in the Penthouse, where Mr. House's monitor is.


There's Yes Man.


There is that collection of bookshelves that I pointed out like twice before.


These Protectron's seem rather out of place, but then you'd remember that House was in charge of RobCo, they people who designed these Securitrons.


Is it just more, or is this bed in a really weird place.


There is a few more things in the Penthouse, but none of it is really interesting or significant.


Let's just check the rest of the outside of the Strip.

In this screenshot, you can see the Gomorroh casino. You can probably guess what it's called that.


There are NCR soldiers walking down the Vegas strip too, they're labeled as "Drunk Soldier" or something like that.


This is the second segment of the Strip.


The cocktail lounge doesn't revolve anymore...


The Tops Casino only has like one act. There is a whole sidequest for the Tops that is dedicated to recruiting people to perform there. It's a pretty cool sidequest, and you can actually watch the acts.


This is where the NCR monorail comes into Vegas.


These machines give you a random skill magazine, if you really need them. I never use magazines much at all, personally.


This is the Ultra-Luxe Casino. It's the most sophisicated casino on the Strip, but people tend to comment that something seems not quite right with the people running it. We will find out exactly what that is once we actually visit the place.


This is the third and final section of the Strip.


The Vault 21 Hotel is pretty insignificant as far as the rest of the game goes, there is about one sidequest involving it, and it really just has you talking to a random NPC in the place.


Single sidequest here, that's it.


And here is the NCR Embassy. It's important for the NCR questline, and that's about it.

We're pretty much done just taking a general look around the Strip. I'll show the other buildings in more detail at a later date.
Would you like more updates like this?
 

ChupathingyX

New member
Jun 8, 2010
3,716
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Nothing wrong with little tours like this, even though I already know pretty much everything :D However, I can't wait for Dead Money.

I would also like to point out that the "Test Site" show globe is located in the cocktail lounge and I think some skill magazines and weapons/ammo.
 

JamesStone

If it ain't broken, get to work
Jun 9, 2010
888
0
0
AlternatePFG said:
[HEADING=1]Exploring the Lucky 38 and The Strip[/HEADING]​
Since I really haven't really slowed down to actually explore anything, I thought it might be good to have a few side updates that show off the different casions and buildings in the New Vegas Strip.


The Lucky 38 is probably the most colorful of all the casinos in the game. That's probably because it's in been in pristine condition unlike the other casinos. The Lucky 38 is completely empty, as many people have stated before, besides the obvious Securitrons, no one has entered the Lucky 38 in 200 years. We (and the companions we send here) are the only people that inhabit this building, so everything is pretty much untouched. It's more sophisticated than the Tops, but less creepy than the Ultra Luxe.

It's also probably the most detailed of all of the casinos.




This is the check in desk. Obviously not in use anymore.


I assume the poker chips in these slots were to show who was checked in or something along those lines.




All of these slot machines going to waste, it's a damn shame.



If you really needed money, you can loot all the valuable stuff in here, and I'm certainly you would make quite a decent profit.


Lot's of neat little posters and pictures. Too bad everything other than the headlines is illegible.




Believe it or not, we're actually going to come across a Dean Domino quite soon.


This is another one of the terminals Obsidian patched in because they fucked up some of the coding for companions. Basically lets you remotely fired them in case they're glitched out, so that they'll show up back where they're supposed to be. In theory anyway, I've never had to use it.


Oh look, a door...


Nope, inaccessible.



This door leads to the room behind the cashiers desk.


Lots of empty gun cabinets on the left.


so much useless money...


The other safes actually have some surprising decent loot. Sure House won't mind if we take this-

Oh wait, he's dead.



Now to check out the VIP Lounge above the cashier's desk...



Just another bar type area, nothing really major here. Well, except for one thing.


The Golden Gloves are a unique unarmed weapon. They're better than the boxing glvoves, and instead of doing normal damage, they do fatigue damage. The idea is that instead of killing enemies, they knock them out. Let's test it out...




The Securitron right there doesn't even care that we just knocked that one unconcious. (Or the robot equivalent of unconcious anyway)


I don't know if they're dead or fatigued.

They went down in a surprisingly little amount of punches.


Now for the Presidential Suite. It's a lot more impressive than the Megaton house and the Tenpenny Tower Suite from Fallout 3.


This is your room. Quite nice, isn't it?


Cept for the bedsheets. Bleh.



This is the dining room. Too bad you can't actually have your companions sit down here and eat anything. All they do is just kind of randomly wander around the place.


Holy shit, a billards table.


That's not enough for pool balls for an actual game.



This is where all the snowglobes you collect are stored. Like the bobblehead stands in Fallout 3.


A bathroom. Not really much to say other than that.


And another just spare bedroom thing.


This terminal can be used to buy upgrades for the suite.


I don't know why all of the extra storage space is really nessecary but whatever. Extra storage is better than no storage.


We buy it all, cause why not. Isn't too expensive anyway.


This chest is where I'm going to be storing all my weapons and such. I am going to be using the suite rather than the Novac motel, mostly because I don't use the Lucky 38 that much, and I like the way it looks in here better anyway.


We got a workbench to use if we need it. Let's check the cocktail lounge.



There is literally nothing of significance in this lounge. It's a shame, I like the way it looks.


This is what it looks like at night, by the way.


Now we're in the Penthouse, where Mr. House's monitor is.


There's Yes Man.


There is that collection of bookshelves that I pointed out like twice before.


These Protectron's seem rather out of place, but then you'd remember that House was in charge of RobCo, they people who designed these Securitrons.


Is it just more, or is this bed in a really weird place.


There is a few more things in the Penthouse, but none of it is really interesting or significant.


Let's just check the rest of the outside of the Strip.

In this screenshot, you can see the Gomorroh casino. You can probably guess what it's called that.


There are NCR soldiers walking down the Vegas strip too, they're labeled as "Drunk Soldier" or something like that.


This is the second segment of the Strip.


The cocktail lounge doesn't revolve anymore...


The Tops Casino only has like one act. There is a whole sidequest for the Tops that is dedicated to recruiting people to perform there. It's a pretty cool sidequest, and you can actually watch the acts.


This is where the NCR monorail comes into Vegas.


These machines give you a random skill magazine, if you really need them. I never use magazines much at all, personally.


This is the Ultra-Luxe Casino. It's the most sophisicated casino on the Strip, but people tend to comment that something seems not quite right with the people running it. We will find out exactly what that is once we actually visit the place.


This is the third and final section of the Strip.


The Vault 21 Hotel is pretty insignificant as far as the rest of the game goes, there is about one sidequest involving it, and it really just has you talking to a random NPC in the place.


Single sidequest here, that's it.


And here is the NCR Embassy. It's important for the NCR questline, and that's about it.

We're pretty much done just taking a general look around the Strip. I'll show the other buildings in more detail at a later date.
Would you like more updates like this?
It has been pretty cool. But I have a question about Dead Money. Will you make it in a way that everyone survives? If yes, remember, to Dean survive you have to choose options that don't insult him. Try to avoid skill checks.

Also, you should totally use the "Run the Lucky 38" mod. It's one of the coolest New Vegas mods, and at least all those slot machines won't go to waste.
 

r3dc0br4

New member
Sep 12, 2009
31
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This sort of thing is pretty cool, as long as the place or places being explored is cool or important enough.

Quick note though, in the cocktail lounge, in one of the outer booths, I believe you can find some C4 and a trigger. Not the most useful explosive, but something fun to use. Worthwhile to pick up if you want to have a little fun later.

And this is just from my own personal playstyle, but the pre-war money I dont think is all that useless. It weighs nothing and is worth something, so you can effectively carry enough to make them worth more than some of the most expensive things in the game.
 

AlternatePFG

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Jan 22, 2010
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JamesStone said:
It has been pretty cool. But I have a question about Dead Money. Will you make it in a way that everyone survives? If yes, remember, to Dean survive you have to choose options that don't insult him. Try to avoid skill checks.
Yeah, I'm going to try to keep everyone alive. Though, I've never had a playthrough where I've managed to avoid killing Dean somehow or another.
 

DustyDrB

Made of ticky tacky
Jan 19, 2010
8,365
3
43
AlternatePFG said:
JamesStone said:
It has been pretty cool. But I have a question about Dead Money. Will you make it in a way that everyone survives? If yes, remember, to Dean survive you have to choose options that don't insult him. Try to avoid skill checks.
Yeah, I'm going to try to keep everyone alive. Though, I've never had a playthrough where I've managed to avoid killing Dean somehow or another.
I was wondering that same thing last week (just went through Dead Money). If the Fallout wiki is correct (usually is), then you just have to really suck up to him. Notes on articles here [http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Dean_Domino#Notes] and here [http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Curtain_Call_at_the_Tampico#Notes] can give you some tips. I've never not made him hostile. He really deserves it, anyway, if you ask me.
 

AlternatePFG

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Jan 22, 2010
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This is an extremely short update, it's just the opening narration and the first, rather long conversation with Elijah. I'll have a separate update with just the opening.

[HEADING=1]Welcome to the Sierra Madre[/HEADING]​
To get to the Sierra Madre Casino, first you have to listen to its radio signal on your Pip-Boy. This dialogue plays repeatedly, in a woman's voice:

"Has your life taken a turn? Do troubles beset you? Has fortune left you behind? If so, the Sierra Madre casino, in all its glory, is inviting you to begin again. Come to a place where wealth, excitement and intrigue await around every corner. Stroll along the winding streets of our beautiful resort, make new friends, or rekindle old flames. Let your eyes take in the luxurious expanse of the open desert under clear star-lit skies. Gaze straight on into the sunset from our villa rooftops. Countless diversions await: Gamble in our casino, take in the theater, or stay in one of our exclusive executive suites that will shelter you and cater to your every whim. So if life's worries have weighed you down, if you need an escape from your troubles, or if you just need an opportunity to begin again, join us, let go, and leave the world behind at the Sierra Madre grand opening this October... We'll be waiting."

Sounds promising, but it's probably just best to assume the place is rubble by now... Maybe it's rubble with a lot of shiny, valuable things, in that case it's worth visiting.


Novac is our closest fast travel point.


Abandoned Brotherhood of Steel bunker, eh? So they must be involved with this somehow.


The bunker is just past a sepia filtered minefield. We maage to get across without getting our legs blown off in the process.


That's the entrance. Seems like a random place to have a bunker, but I really doubt Obsidian thought ahead about where they were going to put this thing. At least for me, there is a lot of confusion about how you actually get to the Sierra Madre, but more on that later...


This is kind of a crummy bunker. You think if it was a BoS bunker they would at least keep it in decent shape.


Yikes, looks like that guys head was blown right off.



Well, it's not like this bunker has any hallways that lead anywhere else.



We're a bit underleveled for this DLC, but it won't be too bad. The difficulty in Dead Money is mostly related to trial and error, instant death related things, not the enemies. Don't get me wrong, the enemies in here can get dangerous at times, but once you get the idea of fighting them, it's very easy.


Is that a... radio?



Can't get through that door, don't have enough Science to hack that terminal. That little safe is empty.


A voice is broadcasting from the radio. Let's check it out a bit more close-


Of course it's not that simple, we get gassed once we enter the room at the end.


Damn radio betrayed us...



And now the game cuts to the introduction to Dead Money. Yup, unlike Fallout 3, each DLC (Except Lonesome Road doesn't get an intro for some reason) has an intro and it's own epilogue. They're really well done, and the epilogue's for the DLC change based off the decisions you make.




"You've heard of the Sierra Madre Casino."


"We all have, the legend, the curses."


"Foolishness about it lying in the middle of the City of the Dead, buried beneath a blood-red cloud."


"A bright, shining monument luring treasure hunters to their doom."


"The world's most famous stars and entertainers were invited to its Grand Opening."


"An invitation was a sign of... exclusiveness."


"The opening was supposed to symbolize a road to a brighter future, not just for the world..."


"...but for all who came to its doors."


"A chance for anyone to begin again."


"Except - the Sierra Madre never opened."


"The war froze it in time, like a big flashbulb going off. The Grand Opening - one big ending of humanity."


"It's still out there, in the Wastes, preserved, just waiting for someone to crack it open. But getting to it. That's not the hard part."


"It's letting go."





Oh crap, I'm already regretting this little vacation...

"Play stupid, play clever, make the mistake of saying "no?" That collar on your neck'll go off and take your head with it."

"Collar? What are you talking about?"

"It's like that Pip-Boy on your wrist, excpet filled with explosives."

Well, I got the idea that it was explosive, with the whole taking off my head bit.

"A little radio of hte Old World, just needed some tuning. Do what I say, and the collar go off... refuse, try and run, disobey me? I'll kill you and find someone else. There's no escape from here until I let you go. The sooner you accpet your situation, the better."

I get the feeling that he's given this conversation to a lot of people.

"What do you want?"

"That structure you see above the Fountain - the Sierra Madre Casino... you need to break inside. A... heist. Too many years in the making. But to get inside, avoid its traps... you'll need to gather the team. As I've found, one cannot do it alone."

Good, we'll have other people help us. But, what exactly is so dangerous about this place?

"You've caught others?"

"Around the Villa are three other collars like yours - Collar 8, 12 and 14. Find all three and get them here, to the Fountain. Then, we'll talk more."

Well, our main priority is to find out what the fuck is going on over here.

"And should you get any ideas about killing each other and taking the treasure of the Sierra Madre for yourself - a warning. All your collars are linked... one of you dies, you all die. If that's what it takes to make you cooperate, so be it."

Shit... Better hope our new companions aren't assholes then.

"Why would you do that?"

"Because in some respects, breaking in to the Sierra Madre is easier than breaking human instinct. Greed. The Villa is filled with corpses. Some killed by the dangers here, some by me. Others... turned on each other. Once they realized the Sierra Madre could be theirs, they cared nothing for their freedom... their survival... or each other."

You think they would wait until they got inside the casino.

"Are they all dead?"

"The ones brought here live on only in what they've left behind, their marks - graffiti on the walls. And victims they've killed. Some tried to help... left supplies and healing for others who came."

We'll come across a few of these stashes in our exploration of the Sierra Madre.

"Their reward? They were tracked down, killed by others with baser instincts. Some of these murderers went as far as to leave traps behind them... turning markers for help into deathtraps for anyone following them. It killed some of them when they forgot where the traps lay... or when they desperately needed the assistance they had cut others off from."

What do you expect when you bring in random people from the wastes?

"How many of these victims did you bring here?"

"Too many. This place is dangerous... and it's quarantine measures, its hazards... have claimed many. Failrues upon failures."

He is not kidding when he describes this place as a death trap. This is more linear survival horrror than open world sandbox fun know. I understand that's probably why a lot of people hate this DLC, but I actually like that particular aspect of it.

"Do you think I wanted to place collars on you to ensure compliance? No... if robots could have done this, I would've sent them. The Sierra Madre is a complicated lock. Cracking it open requires human hands."

"Where is my gear?"

That's a good question. Another thing people hated about Dead Money was that it took away all your stuff. I suppose it would undermine the atmosphere they were going for if you could just one shot everything with your Anti-Material Rifle.

"The Sierra Madre has many... defenses, means of screening guests for illicit or dangerous items."

Here is where things get a bit contrived... In fact, a lot of things in this DLC are rather contrived. Don't get me wrong, most of the stuff here is actually explained in terminals or explained later in Old World Blues, but it's still a bit silly at times.

"Your arrival here, weaponless, was not my intention. The Casino, this Villa... it takes anything with even a trace of radioactivity, traces of unknown substances... and returns it home. The bunker."

How? Is there some sort of checkpoint we go through? What's returning it, robots or something else?

It's even more baffling once we find out how we got here.

"The process is automated, and the casino itself has other, similar "services." I was unable to find a workaround, except to send others in as tools. Still... I have no left you defenseless, and the Sierra Madre's security in some respects, can help you if you are resourceful enough."

"What do you mean?"

"This place is well-preserved. Few who came here ever returned."

Yeah, you've driven that point home already.

"All of the treasures of the Old World lie scattered about, virtually untouched. Search, hunt... craft what you can from what you find. The trash of the Pre-War era can keep you alive - food, knives, more. Use them."

Oh yes, I just love me some 200 year old Mac'N'Cheese.

"Even the Villa's toxins... and the residue it leaves behind... can be shaped into tools and weapons. Gather it as well. Also... there is one more thing in your possession, a rifle that will keep you alive, as surely as the collar will."

"What is this rifle?"

"It is a Holorifle, a weapon I constructed when I arrived... I have since made superior models - and modifications."

You can find weapon mods (Well, recipes for weapon mods, it's complicated) around the Villa. You want to grab those before you leave after the DLC is finished, because for some stupid reason you can't return.

"For now, that tool will have to do until you find other weapons... and I suggest you do, the Holorifle's ammo is limited."

Hope you're good with energy weapons or melee weapons, otherwise you're fucked!

Well, not really, it's just a lot harder. You can get your hands on a decent melee weapon right away too, but the guns will have to wait for a bit.

"Still, it should serve well enough. I fashioned it from the Holograms of the Villa and used it agianst the Villa's... living inhabitants."

Oh yeah, there's a new enemy type. A single new enemy type. Just like the Pitt from Fallout 3, they use this enemy a ton in this DLC just to make up for that. Unlike The Pitt though, there aren't any generic raiders to break up the monotony.

They're creepier than Trogs at least...

"The inhabitants? There's people alive here?"

"Yes... the inhabitants... avoid them if you can, they are difficult to kill."

Hope you have a decent sneak!

Note that none of the things that give you an advantage in this DLC (Sneak, Melee Weapons, Unarmed) we have point any points in. Joy.

"Whatever has created them, bullets, explosions, energy... it can maek them inert for a time, then they seem to crawl back up, restored."

Oh god, that does not sound good.

"Perhaps it's the Cloud... perhaps something in their physiology."

"What is the Cloud?"

"The Cloud is what blankets the sky here... you may smell it in the air, copper and sulfur... burns the lungs and seeps into the skin. As for its origins... I am not certain. Pre-War industrial pollutants... something in the Sierra Madre structure... It is unique across the wasteland... and deadly. It has kept this place preserved since the Great War."

"Will exposure kill me?"

"The air here is lethal only if you enter concentrated pockets of the Cloud."

Walking into these pockets drains your health pretty quick.

"Too long inside one, you'll die, so be careful where you step."

It burns your skin, so you can't even hold your breath for really long and get through unscathed.

"I've seen some survive concentration of the Cloud for short periods of time if healthy enough - others were too weak. Rebreathers, chemical suit... there is no protection against it, it decays all it touches. I've found fighting it useless."

Surprisingly, instead of just being an environmental hazard, the cloud is actually an important plot point.

"Is there any place safe to rest?"

"Anywhere sheltered from the Cloud... inside buildings, tunnels... any place not exposed to the outside air."

There are a ton of beds in the Villa but the majority of them can't be slept in.

"Anything the Cloud has touched has preserved it one way or another... but only the Holograms in the Villa truly remain."

"What Holograms are you talking about?"

They're the other new "enemy". They aren't really an enemy is much as an environmental hazard.

"Ghosts... they filled the Villa. More in the Casino... much more. They carry out the functions the dead once did. They cannot be harmed... they onl perform the same rote tasks until their power dies. They are of no consequence - except for the Security Holograms, the ones with the silhouettes of the armored Sierra Madre guards."

"How are they different?"

"Most Holograms perform specific functions. The Security Holograms, ever since the bombs fell, now perform their function. They will kill anyone they detect. They are immune to guns, weapons EMPs... even energy weapons. Still, they have limitations. Their design limits their field of view, enough to avoid detection."

Not very good security bots then...

"Each has an emitter - destroy or disable it, and they cease to be a threat. Still... at least they still work as intended. Other technology here is more of a threat to you... notably, the Villa's radios and speakers."

"Radios and speakers?"

"Yes, music was intended to be broadcast all over the Villa... over time, however, the radio signal has decayed and emits a different frequency. Speakers and radios interfere with the bomb collar frequency, and can trigger the detonators... prematurely."

So, we can explode at pretty much any time.

"It is an unfortunate side effect, one I did not anticipate. I was unable to calibrate the collars to block the signals - so you'll have to make do."

This is another people hate about this DLC.

"You have got to be kidding. This place is filled with radio mines that can kill me?"

"Yes. But not immediately. You'll hear a beep from your collar's detonator - when you do, step back, scan the area, and find the signal source. There are damaged speakers, and shielded ones... the damaged ones you can destroy at range - don't get close, you can't switch them off like a radio. The damaged speakers are sparking, ha... hard to miss. The casings are resistant to vandalism - punching or hitting them will not destroy them."

"So how do I destroy the radios and speakers then?"

"Gunshots, energy blasts - even spears thrown with great force - can puncture the exterior."

I never had too much problems with the radios/speakers, aside from one room near the end.

"Shielded speakers can't be destroyed at all. You'll need to avoid them or switch them off via a terminal. I... I'll leave the method up to you."

"I had other questions."

"I am short on patience. And you are short on time."

"What is this place?"

"Unfamiliar with the legend of the Sierra Madre?"

Well, it was on our radio and we just kind of... followed it I guess.

"The casino exists."

Well, obviously.

"You are one of the few who look upon it. Where you're standing is the Villa beneath the casino above. The wreckage... the Villa... lies in the shadow. The Villa is a dumping ground of failed construction... Pre-War junk that has aged poorly."

"How did I get here?"

"I brought you here. There are mechanisms in place once the traps across the Mojave are sprung. For now, your sole focus should be the Sierra Madre, and how to get inside. Until then, you won't leave alive."

He is not telling the full story of how we got here. It's a bit more complicated than that.

"Who are you?"

"Someone who followed the call of the Sierra Madre, just as you did. Now that I've found it's more than a story... I intend to take what's inside. Maybe that's why you came. Why you followed the Pip-Boy here... and straight into one of my traps. Now, this is your reward."

I love how he claims the people who go after the Sierra Madre are greedy, but Elijah is more greedy than anyone.

"How are you speaking to me?"

"Confused? Don't be. I'm commandeering the hologram technology of the Villa. Numbers, equations, circuits... all can be controlled, provided there's a connection, and the knowledge to use it. This Villa, the casino... a treasure trove of such devices. The Holograms included."

"Who are these people I'm gathering?"

"One is a trusted ally... obedient, collar or no, although the collar helps. The other two... well, we'll have to see what the traps caught."

"Any suggestions for who I should get first?"

"Yes... Collar 8, the FEV reject, the Super Mutant."

Ooooh, a super mutant companion. Those are always fun.

"He's docile, predictable, and provided he's not starving, should be easy to command. I lost contact with him some time ago... probably after he dragged you here from the trap."

Welp, now we know how we got here, but we can't ask Elijah further about it. I guess we'll ask the Super Mutant.

"Find him, he'll follow you, collar or no."

"What's FEV?"

I like how they realized that your character would probably have no idea what FEV is, even if they have seen a Super Mutant before.

"A long story. FEV... a virus with an even longer story... it gave birth to the docile one, turned him into a Super Mutant long ago."

"How do I find these people?"

"Your piece of RobCo trash will help you, I've ensured it. It can latch on to the signal of the collars..."

Hey, it's not trash. It's more helpful than this stupid bomb collar.

"...And tune into their frequencies. The bomb collars come with radios embedded in them. You can eavesdrop easily."

Eavesdrop you say? Never did that before actually.

"It was part of their design... to listne in. They can even screen out white noise from the environment to allow greater monitoring. I've downloaded the instructions and markers on your Pip-Boy... in case you forget. And yes, I have access to that device on your wrist."

This guy reminds me of House in a lot of ways. Why are people who you only communicate through a screen always so insufferable?

"Get the other three here, after that... I'll have more instructions for you. Do this, I'll let you go. I'll let all of you go."

Somehow I don't believe that.


Elijah's face disappears from the fountain and is replaced with a hologram of a woman.


So we're trapped here in the Villa, which is essentially a deathtrap, with no equipment at all save for a bomb collar and a makeshift energy weapon with only a few rounds. Yeah.

We're fucked.
What did you think of Dead Money's opening? The slideshow is mostly what I'm referring to, but just the way it starts out in general.
 

AlternatePFG

New member
Jan 22, 2010
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[HEADING=1]Dead Money[/HEADING]​



"You've heard of the Sierra Madre Casino."


"We all have, the legend, the curses."


"Foolishness about it lying in the middle of the City of the Dead, buried beneath a blood-red cloud."


"A bright, shining monument luring treasure hunters to their doom."


"The world's most famous stars and entertainers were invited to its Grand Opening."


"An invitation was a sign of... exclusiveness."


"The opening was supposed to symbolize a road to a brighter future, not just for the world..."


"...but for all who came to its doors."


"A chance for anyone to begin again."


"Except - the Sierra Madre never opened."


"The war froze it in time, like a big flashbulb going off. The Grand Opening - one big ending of humanity."


"It's still out there, in the Wastes, preserved, just waiting for someone to crack it open. But getting to it. That's not the hard part."


"It's letting go."
 

DustyDrB

Made of ticky tacky
Jan 19, 2010
8,365
3
43
AlternatePFG said:
What did you think of Dead Money's opening? The slideshow is mostly what I'm referring to, but just the way it starts out in general.
I've softened a great deal on Dead Money. I used to not like it, but now I do. I like the slideshow. It's not as good as Old World Blues', but (much, much, much) better than Honest Hearts'. What makes it special is the difference between the intro slideshow and the ending one. "That's not the hard part. It's letting go". But I guess we'll get to that.

And an FYI: The thread title is still from the previous update.
 

r3dc0br4

New member
Sep 12, 2009
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Its definitely an interesting way to start DLC. I am looking forward to seeing you play through this survival-horror section, though.
 

ChupathingyX

New member
Jun 8, 2010
3,716
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AlternatePFG said:
What did you think of Dead Money's opening? The slideshow is mostly what I'm referring to, but just the way it starts out in general.
I really liked it, especially considering I did not expect an opening at all (or an ending).

As for the opening with Elijah, I liked that too.

He quickly gets to the point, gives you the holorifle (which I love!) and then sets you on your merry way.

And of course there's:

"Do this, I'll let you go. I'll let all of you go".

He sounds so cool when he says that, and it makes the beginning much more ominous (along with the "inhabitants", cloud and general uncertainty of the whole villa).
 

DustyDrB

Made of ticky tacky
Jan 19, 2010
8,365
3
43
One great thing about Dead Money:

Really makes me want to watch a "Golden Era" TV show with the whole team as the stars.