[Polpolion]

damn, steam is borking for me right now and I can't add anything to my shopping cart

edit: Works on my web browser. Steam client just doesn't want to work for some reason...

[Scourge of Ages]

Steam and steampowered.com are both down for me

DOUBLEPOOOOSSSSST: For some reason, I now have three 50% coupons for Crusader Kings II, so if anybody wants one, let me know and I'll shoot it on over. I also have a 75% off on Lunar Flight that's free to the first person who wants it. (All coupons offered freely, no trade required or expected)

[Klaustrophobia]

broke down and bought skyrim.  i've never played any kind of fantasy RPG games before (unless you count zelda), but i figured with all the insane hype surrounding it and for only $8 i can give an entirely new genre a try.  now i have to decide if i start playing that or something else from my backlog.  major items there include KOTOR, the entire half-life series, and all those fallouts i got for free + new vegas.  although i tried fallout 1 briefly already and it didn't take.

[Fury]

Fallout gameplay can feel a bit out-of-place and awkward for most people who aren't used to turn-based combat in a game that otherwise plays in real-time. Especially early on when your first encounters are with mutated rats and scorpions and weapons are pistol or spear at best.

Because of the turn-based combat, the trick to success in combat without losing half of the hair on your head lies with having enough action points. It has been very long time since I played either F1 or F2, but if I remember correctly it was best to take 8 points of agility to gain 8 action points. More than that took too many points away from other stats. Also, even though the interface only shows up to 10 action points, you can go over it. The game track any extra action points even if they aren't showing up in the interface. So make use of those perks and everything else that can increase agility or action points. IIRC there is even a perk that allows you to always be the first to move in a combat.

All that said, I always wished Fallout had same kind of real-time combat as Baldur's Gate did.

[BloodEagle]

Fallout 2 is a much different game from the first.  If you don't get high agility then you've completely messed up your character, because all of your enemies are going to practically have agility maxed out (or have the special +4 movement perk).  By the time you get Power Armor (assuming you aren't gaming the system), any strength penalty you took to put the points in something else is rendered meaningless since the game is pretty much over.

Oh, and the mechanics involving how accurate you are are bull**** in the second game.  "You have maxed out perception, luck, small guns at 120%, and the accuracy perks?  Well in that case, you have a 50% chance of hitting the guy just down the street with your military grade assault rifle -- in his leg."

[Scotty]

Have you ever actually tried shooting at someone?

It's a lot harder than it looks.

[BloodEagle]

Have you ever actually tried shooting at someone?

It's a lot harder than it looks.

#1. I'm talking about a video game that uses tabletop mechanics, not real life.

#2. I plead the Fifth. //of course I haven't, I'm not a cop or a soldier;

#3. I have legally fired a number of weapons at a shooting range before, though.  And yes, it is more difficult than most people would think.

#4. But if my statistics and skills say that I'm the offspring of Neo and Lyudmila Pavlichenko then I should damned well be able to hit something that's across the street wherever I please.  Combine this with the fact that in the first game, this wasn't an issue.