Journal entry 0.5: A rocky start

Before we begin this thing proper, let's start with a tale of woe.

Fallout 3 isn't optimised for Windows 7, it's better with Windows XP.  This means a few things but mostly that things will be a little weird if you play on a more modern OS.  To combat this, I did some research into patches, config settings, running through the command line with various settings enabled or disabled, installing software, suppressing software and clean installing over 5 times.

Eventually the solution was that my rig is kind of wrecked and that I should have just used my wife's computer to play this thing.  Lesson learned!  It took me 6 hours to learn it but I certainly took it to heart!

Jesus H...

Because this thing is running but still crashing, I just about got through character creation before the thing crashed again but I think I know what the solution is now.  Either way, I'm going to post something 'cause I'm getting pretty anxious to get this thing started.

So.

To begin, this isn't a 100% blind playthrough.  I HAVE played this for maybe 2 hours, just enough to make the one big decision about Megaton, do a couple of quests and wander into a sidequest that was way to hard for me to handle.

Probably the biggest difference between this game and Skyrim is going to be the morality system.  Since Skyrim's quests are usually assigned by a peasant with a grudge, someone with a political agenda or a voice in your head screaming at you to torture, eat or sacrifice people, "morality" is a bit of a... difficult concept for the people of the northlands.  But Washington has civilisation, soda pop and other modern things so I think we're going to be okay here.

Also, there aren't any elves.  Maybe Skyrim didn't have a morality system because nobody could possibly compare themselves to anything other than pigs rooting through the mud when compared to the paragons of culture and understanding that are the elves.  They're just too beautiful.  They're too pure.  They set an unrealistic moral standard, meaning that everything a non-elf does is basically evil by comparison.  That's part of why I had to kill all the elves, you see.  It wasn't really down to racism like I made it out to be.  It was to prevent the rest of Tamriel from committing suicide because they weren't good enough.  But I can be the bigger man if I really need to be and therefore my feelings on elves and their kin have been made perfectly clear many, many times before and don't bear stating again.

I mean, an elf might read them and cry delicate tears, much like the dew collecting in the misty morning on the end of the petal of a rose.

Since we have morality, I shall be conducting myself in a manner appropriate to one who believes we should go back to old fashioned British values.  Chivalry, good manners, impeccable dress sense.  Except that I'm okay with women having jobs and rights and stuff.


And so we prepare to cover the span of around 18 years in about an hour.  Put a pot of coffee on we're about to do the timewarp.  For the first time, mind you and not, as is often suggested, again.  I mean, were you doing the timewarp at the start of this blog?

No?

Then you're not doing it again.  And don't try to argue that by the very nature of the timewarp, you may have gone back in time and already done it before you've done it for the first time because I realise the implication in the lyrics.  I also realise that anything involving time travel can very easily devolve into a pseudo-intellectual mess because the logistics of time travel and of the grammar involved in it are horrible, horrible, horrible.  What I'm trying to say is that I think that song's catchy but I don't think it's maybe as clever as it's meant to be.

So, what were we doing again?  Gentlemanly conduct, casual racism against non-existant peoples, Rocky Horror...

Oh yeah, birth.

It's the pelvic thruuust that really drives you insa-a-a-a-ane!

Okay, so I decide my gender after my dad asks me what my gender is.  I don't like how this is starting.  I would have thought that kind of thing was kind of decided quite a while ago.  Like, pre-foetus.  Unless in the year 2077 you can pick your gender at birth.  That's kind of progressive I suppose but it seems an unfair level of responsibility to give a baby.  I haven't even learned to poo yet.  At this stage, even if I have the cognitive ability to make decisions, I'm entirely likely to declare my gender as "FIRE ENGINE".  I really wish that was an option.

It also lets me choose my race which suggests that my mother is rapidly switching between various races as I try my different character creation options out.  Dad is certainly caucasian and that doesn't seem to change.  Maybe I'm not his actual son.

What a twist!

As a gentleman, I need a gentlemanly name.

PERFECT

Sir Vaulter Raleigh, son of Geoff Raleigh and Barbara Lilywhite.  Lovely.  And from what I saw of the unnamed (until now) father in my last playthrough, he seemed like a nice, friendly and trustworthy guy.  I'm sure he'll bring me up right.

Okay, that looks like the kind of face that I'd confidently buy a product from or share a pot of tea with.  Yes, a truly distinguished gentleman.

At this point I learned that my mum's name is Catherine.  However, she died pretty much as soon as she saw my face (which happened to Dragonbjorn all the time.  I'm largely okay with that now).  What I'm trying to say is that she can't correct me any more so her surname is still Raleigh.  Or Lilywhite.  Like I know if they're married.  Probably not, I don't think vault 101 has a registrar in it so... I'm a bastard?  Not that it matters but it's good to have these things straight before I get to the playground.

I don't know if dad has a name now so we're sticking with Geoff.

After Catherine died, the game crashed.  That was poetic.  I'll try to fix a few things and report back next session.

Thought for the day
How does the genetic projection machine know what facial hair I'm going to grow in the future?  Technology is amazing.