Fallout is one of the all time great game series, up there with Legend of Zelda, Elder Scrolls, Final Fantasy, and Half-Life. With the TV show, the remake, and the promise of Fallout 5 sometime after the next decade, lots of people are discussing or getting into the Fallout universe for the first time.
Most people would assume that they should probably start at the beginning and most people are right, but it would seem like a lot of modern players bounce off of the classic games and never get much further than just past the vault door, this was me for a long time. But recently I got into the classic games after many failed attempts and I want to share how I did it so other folks can decide for themselves the answers to the old grognard arguments of yore regarding the fallout series.
Quality of Life Modding
First off Fallout 1 is lacking in a lot of quality of life features that are present in Fallout 2. So if you are going to get into Fallout Classic as a Sky-baby then I recommend you do yourself every favor by getting BOTH games and then applying the "Fallout Et Tu" patch.
Why do this?
Fallout one NPCs have a chance to stand behind you in a doorway or tight space permanently trapping you there. Fallout 2 allows you to "push" NPCs and followers even during combat.
Fallout 1 party members do not level up and don't visually change their armor, but this patch / mod fixes that.
Fallout 1 has two character models; Man and Woman. Fallout Et Tu has Dude-man, Girl-Woman, Bald Dude, Long Hair Dude, Black Dude, and Punk Girl.
To install Fallout Et Tu you can download directly from the projects git.
(Note, I did not make Fallout Et Tu all credit to rotators! You can scroll down to download the latest release.)
You should then extract the files into your fallout 2 master folder
(PRO GAMER TIP!: Install your fallout games in your Games folder and NOT in program files!)
This will let you play the Fallout 2 Restoration Project and it's respective mods like "Additional Talking Heads" and an addon for that mod called "Talking Heads That Actually Talk" which I am playing with and I recommend if you have a hard time reading a lot of text. Sadly nothing like these mods exists for the first game but it is much smaller and more compact. There are in fact very few if any real "walls of text" in the first game. The second game is where it starts to get long winded.
Once you have extracted the Fallout Et Tu files into your Fallout 2 install folder you then have to run the UNDAT application and select the MASTER file from your Fallout 1 install folder and extract it into your fallout 2in1 folder which should be in your Fallout 2 folder. This is how the mod works, it takes the files from Fallout 1 cutscenes, music files, characters, and quest data, and moves it all into Fallout 2's engine, which brings with it many QOL features absent from the original game.
The development of Fallout 1 was quick but the development of Fallout 2 was even quicker, as it released just a year after the first entry. This means that the first game lacks many features added in the second game. You may be thinking you want to be a purist here but that's going to mean followers with no inventory management, having to reload because you trapped yourself in a tight space and your follower walked behind you and won't move, as well as broken quest lines and certain storylines with no conclusion.
Fallout Et Tu adds cut content and even a freaking MOTORCYCLE!!! Most of the extra content is optional or needs to be enabled. Make sure you do this BEFORE you start your game. You do this by going into your "Fallout 2>Fallout1in2>mods" folder and removing brackets from the mods_order text file for the mods you want to enable and adding brackets to the ones you want to disable.
By putting a ; in front of fo1_robo dog I disabled the robodog skin I did this because Robodog in Fallout 1 does not make sense to me at all I did the same for the alternative Junktown endings because I hate the alternative Junktown endings as do the creators of the game because those endings are NOT telegraphed to the player and feel disjointed with the rest of the game for that reason, some content is cut with good reason. If you want to know more about what any of these mods does each of them has a READ ME file in their unique folder.
Next up it's a good idea to install Reshade which you can actually do in fallout 1 now thanks to Et Tu. Do not use a moving filter on this game as the talking heads seem to break it, a minor amount of horizontal blur, a vignette, and some chromatic aberration will do wonders towards making the game look smoother and less grainy but also emulate a bit of that Retro aesthetic that the series is known for today. Some people online say that old Computer Monitors have almost zero blur to them but this is not the case the games were designed to be viewed with the limitations of a CRT monitor as all old computer monitors were CRT, and while crisp you are likely going to be playing the game at a higher resolution than the devs anticipated you would be playing nearly 30 years later, that is why your games logo when running is a picture of Tim Cains head. The devs did that as a joke because who on earth would be displaying computer icons at a higher resolution than 144p. So emulating at least a little bit of that old school vibe is going to take you MILES in not making the game look terrible.
As for Fallout 1 for whatever reasons the GOG version even with Et Tu looks really zoomed out when you run in 1080p so I recommend running the game in 720p which might feel bad to do if you paid a lot for a big monitor but trust me sometimes to make old games look better you need to make them look worse first.
Finally, the soundtrack for Fallout 1 is fire as hell, 16 ambient tracks for locations spanning the games map. It's NOT something I recommend turning off. That being said Fallout 2 ends up reusing a lot of the ambient tracks from the 1st game in a way that feels lame if you are playing them back to back. Your pip-boy does not have a radio, but you should consider putting together some of your favorite tracks or tracks you always wish they would add to Fallout maybe a few fan-made ads for in-universe items. Don't use a pre-made station from one of the games this will just encourage you to bounce off the game for one of the newer ones.
PRO GAMER STRATS
When the times get tough, and they will, keep going. I was continuously having to reload, or outright restart the game in order to get to where I wanted / needed to be. (This was in large part due to not understanding that I had hundreds of save slots to work with) Don't let mistake stop you from experimenting a bit. Take your time, talk to folks, try to get a feel for things before you outright give up on this classic game.
I've got a few tips for beginners and stuff I wish I had known starting out.
1. Create your own character, you will be more attached to that character, and hopefully, understand how they are supposed to be played.
2. Figure out a character concept and stick with it, are you a martial arts ninja, a fast talking gun-nut, a dumb brute, or a weak sneak thief?
3. Tag a COMBAT skill; Small Guns, Big Guns, Energy Weapons, Unarmed, Melee, or Throwing. Your mileage may very, early game has a lot of Small guns, late game has a lot of Big Guns and Energy Weapons, throwing applies to spears and grenades, and unarmed/melee build is totally viable although I have not tested it. Don't feel like you are locked out of Big Guns or Energy Weapons in the late game either, you can take the "Tag" perk in the late game and double all previously allocated points plus and extra 20. So you can allocate points to a late-game combat skill.
4. Tag an ACTIVE skill, these have to be activated; Doctor, First Aid, Lockpick, Repair, Science, Sneak, Steal, Traps. Some of these are more useful than others, being a healer pacifist who just helps out other groups in battles is possible in ET TU now that your followers Level Up, but you will want to get into some combat to level up yourself as the later parts of the game involve you being attacked by a LOT of one hit kill baddies if you aren't armed to the teeth. You could probably endure the entire game without killing any humans but it would be tough without grinding rats and death claws for a while.
5. Tag a PASSIVE skill; Barter, Gambling, Outdoorsman, or Speech. Think about your build if you want to select Outdoorsman as this will reduce your amount of negative random encounters, meaning you will spend a longer amount of in-game time grinding if you are relying on that to gain exp. You could soft lock yourself if you plan on relying on this method of grinding if you are not careful There is a time limit after all. Barter / Gambling is good if you want a lot of money, but Speech is really useful if you want to make a smarty-pants know-it-all character and you KNOW you want to do that, Vaulty!
6. If you are having a hard time with your SPECIAL statistics look at what the base statistics are for your tagged skills each skill has an associated SPECIAL stat.
7. Don't use a guide unless you are REALLY stuck. You aren't REALLY stuck unless you have to reload a couple times.
8. There is NO autosave. Save each time you enter / leave a settlement or area. Save before combat. Save after combat, if you are really feeling scummy you can save during combat as well. Use all 900+ save slots incase you need to go back a few saves. Save before you travel. Save while you are traveling. Seriously there are enough slots for your entire game. This would have saved me so much pain.
9. Roleplay a bit, stand in-front of people you want to trade with, shout from a distance at people you want to shout at from a distance. This DOES matter. Having your weapons drawn while you talk to people also matters.
10. The game keeps a LOT secret from you, maybe too much, try to use common sense even in combat, if you use an automatic weapon on a target standing near an ally you will likely also hit your ally.
11. The game is split into 3 acts. Act 1: The Tutorial Towns (First two major settlements) Act 2: The Open World (The other major settlements and finding the water chip) Act 3: The End Game (Discovering the location of the Final Boss and finishing them off.) There is a time limit. It's not super strict, but if you dilly dally too long or assume the only timer in the game is the one it shows you, then you might have a bad time, remember to use common sense.
12. Read the manual. Lots of good tips in there without getting any spoilers, a walkthrough of the first game area, descriptions of all the game systems and mechanics, even some lore and snack recipes from the creators of the game.
13. This is a big one. I was WRONG about how many slots there are. Use the arrow buttons on the save screen there are more than enough to have a unique slot for each and every save. Give each slot a custom name and that will help you a ton with backtracking saves if you really goof to help with not having to fully restart if you mess something up.
14. Not really a spoiler, the only moon logic in the game is found during the opening hours of the game. While you are in Shady Sands you need to search all the bookshelves in town until you find a rope. You won't be able to explore vault 15 without it.
My Character Sheet
Below is my character sheet from the first game as I reached the end of the campaign. I plan on playing again in the near future maybe I will play on stream on some platform and you can watch me play. Please note; I did not make my character with no perception score, my eyes simply exploded. Be sure to guard against that happening if you play.
FALLOUT
VAULT-13 PERSONNEL RECORD
01 September 2162 2317 hours
Name: Amberlynn Age: 27 Gender: Female
Level: 16 Exp: 129,712 Next Level: 136,000
::: Statistics :::
Strength: 09 Hit Points: 072/091 Sequence: 02
Perception: 01 Armor Class: 040 Healing Rate: 01
Endurance: 05 Action Points: 10 Critical Chance: 005%
Charisma: 07 Melee Damage: 04 Carry Weight: 250 lbs.
Intelligence: 08 Damage Res.: 040%
Agility: 10 Radiation Res.: 040%
Luck: 05 Poison Res.: 025%
::: Traits :::
Gifted
Fast Shot
::: Perks :::
Awareness
Bonus Rate of Fire
Dodger
Swift Learner
Tag!
::: Karma :::
Reputation (General): 221 (Wanderer)
Champion
::: Reputation :::
Vault 13: Neutral
Shady Sands: Neutral
Vault 15: Neutral
Raiders: Neutral
Necropolis: Neutral
Junktown: Neutral
Military Base: Neutral
Hub: Neutral
Brotherhood: Neutral
Boneyard: Neutral
Cathedral: Neutral
Glow: Neutral
::: Skills ::: ::: Kills :::
Small Guns ..... 105% X TAG Men ............ 093
Big Guns ....... 010% Women .......... 024
Energy Weapons . 200% X TAG Super Mutants .. 083
Unarmed ........ 064% Ghouls ......... 007
Melee Weapons .. 054% Radscorpions ... 073
Throwing ....... 040% Rats ........... 100
First Aid ...... 037% Floaters ....... 017
Doctor ......... 009% Centaurs ....... 006
Sneak .......... 025% Robots ......... 006
Lockpick ....... 077% X TAG Dogs ........... 001
Steal .......... 020% Manti .......... 014
Traps .......... 016% DeathClaws ..... 011
Science ........ 075% Geckos ......... 026
Repair ......... 066%
Speech ......... 105% X TAG
Barter ......... 060%
Gambling ....... 025%
Outdoorsman .... 053%
::: Inventory :::
1x Lockpicks 8x Micro Fusion Cell 10x Small Energy Cell
21x Stimpak 6,300x Bottle Caps 1x Electronic Lockpick
1x Robes 1x COC Badge 1x COC Badge
1x Alien Blaster 1x Stimpak 1x Powered Armor
Total Weight: 175 lbs.
Fallout 1 No Spoiler Review
Fallout 1 is a beast of a game. But it is tight, the dialogue, the quests, the map, the design of the game itself is tight. Nothing really feels extraneous. All that remains is what the bombs didn't destroy. Everything is connected because this is all that is left and everyone is relying on each other. Society is starting up again and it is struggling to break free of the cracked and scarred earth that once buried it as well as the systems and constructs that brought it all down in the first place.
The alternative path of the 20th and 21st centuries is eluded to but the world before the war is rightfully mysterious and strange as it should be to anyone entering into it's carcass for the first time. Fallout features many of the trappings of a standard RPG but with a Post-Apocalyptic Twist. You can't cast slow on an enemy, but you can target and break one of their legs, you cannot cast blindness, instead you target your enemies eyes and blind them the old fashioned way, and you can frenzy enemies by targeting their groin. However, my build did not allow me to take such care, instead I just shot multiple times a round without aiming and managed to do pretty well for myself, beating the game and all, although in the end my eyes did explode but not because I wasn't a good enough shot, but because I rushed it in the final area and got to excited about beating the game.
I think the highlight of my experience was the sheer joy I felt when I finally got the water chip. I was literally giggling after spending something like 30 hours trying to find and get to the thing, I finally figured it out, in my head at first while I was falling asleep, and then the next day I tried my plan and made it past a part I thought I was stuck on. I felt like my character must be skipping across the deserts sands laughing along with me all the way back to Vault 13!
I will also say that I did know the ending of the game going into it, but that I was still kind of emotional about it. It's a really beautiful ending that I think will go down as one of the best in gaming history, really something you cannot understand unless you obtain it for yourself. Fallout 1 is a MASTERPIECE. It's held back by its age and engine, but hopefully with this guide you can help it along to where it needs to be for YOU to enjoy it far into the 21st century
Layout: Itinerae. // Fonts: "Orbitron" "Goldman" from Google fonts. // JS effect
