You miss your guess;) The unique weapons do in fact offer up a great deal of variation in Fallout 3. The Xuanlong does more damage, holds 36 instead of 24 rounds but takes more AP in VATS. The Victory sniper has a knockdown feature, the Reservist’s sniper fires faster and has a greater critical chance but only holds three rounds, etc. Then there are weapons that do more damage to limbs and others that do fire, shock or poison damage.
Thanks for clearing up my ignorance. I was certainly mistaken that they just add a damage bonus.
But, likewise, you were incorrect on a few little points. the Xulong, for instance, (at least according to the guide) takes the exact same AP’s as the Chinese assault rifle, but it does have a much larger magazine. The Victory and Reservist rifle do indeed have significantly different combat profiles to justify their inclusion as different weapon upgrades along the lines of Fallout 2 upgrades.
But, for instance, the only real difference between the combat and Terrible shotguns is that the TS does a bit more damage and its (pellets? buckshot?) spread out a bit more and do more damage on a crit.
You are, overall, right. There is more variation in the named weapons than I realized at first glance. But I still don’t think that there’s all that much when we get down to brass tacks. Most variants, for example, perform the same at a given range, have the same magazine size, ROF, etc… I liked that in Fallout 2, there was a real difference between using a speed loading .44 and the Desert Eagle. I liked that you could have the tactical flexibility to select the right kind of weapon in a certain class, and the right ammo for it, rather than simply deciding that if it was a crap target, you use the 10mm. If you’re sniping, you use a rifle. If you’re at mid-range, you use an assault rifle. If it’s at close range, you use the combat shotgun or a variant. I liked that. Ah well, eh? 
I know from experience that the Xuanlong assault rifle hold 36 rds vs 24 in the standard chinese assault rifle. This weapon list<spoilers> shows that several others have higher capacities as well.
Oh, I totally agree that the weapons in Fallout 2 were more varied, especially in how they filled different tactical roles. The only thing that really impacts what weapon I choose in Fallout 3 is how much ammo I have for the good guns.
The info for the Xuanlong comes from the list Projammer linked to. I haven’t checked it myself, but aim to do so at my earliest convenience.
ETA: You’re right, the same. Error in the wiki, then.
The only upgradable F3 weapons are the seven schematics weapons, and they each have two upgrades, so 52 +14.
I was starting with a base of 103 from the list plus the 14 upgrades, but that was admittedly quick and sloppy and, while your 97 is an improvement, I now think a base of 95 is better than either of our initial values, so make it 95 + 14 = 109 total instead. And I’m not quite sure where the disparity is on F2 weapons, but going down this page is where I count 100.
Just riffing on FinnAgain’s “X times as many Y” argument as applied to mines. Or junk-ammo weaponry. And you’re right, the Rock-It Launcher is one weapon; I should have said all the items constitute hundreds of ammo types. Wait a minute…
One of the Official Patches for Bioshock did allow you to turn VitaChambers on or off through the options screen, IIRC.
Yeah, unfortunately it should have shipped like that (and not including it seems like a serious issue with their development team, IMO). But the Xbox doesn’t seem to even offer that as downloadable content.
One of these days, I’ll buy a new computer that can actually run all the games I’d like to play. Until then, my 360 serves well enough, I’m afraid.
I’d have to disagree with your assessment here, as the only thing upgrading your schematics does is raise the condition of the weapon when you first build it (or make more in the cases of the Nuka-Grenade and the Bottlecap Mine). If two weapons of the same type but in different condition are going to count as different weapons altogether, you really will have a near-infinite amount of weapons.
Did you count the rocks, throwing knives and spears as both melee/unarmed and thrown? That should account for the discrepancy.
No, they also get a damage boost, so they really are upgrades, though less imaginative.
Ah, figured it was something like that. Thanks for clearing that up.
Slight correction (before you correct me again :)): Most of the handmade weapons get a damage boost. Bottlecap mines and Nuka grenades do not, so make that 10 upgrades instead of 14 and adjust numbers accordingly.
Sorry, I will have to correct you. Since there is only one object ID for each weapon, the only difference can be in condition. I addition, I just tested with the Shishkebab using the additem console codes.
Melee skill 39, Repair 100.
With one schematic I get a slightly damaged Shishkebab - 26 DAM. Make another, repair to 100% and it’s up to 28.
Shishkebab v2 - 28, fully repaired.
Shishkebab v3 - 28, fully repaired. If my repair skill had been below 100 there would have been a difference, as it would be at 125% condition versus my repair skill. No damage boost beyond what comes as a result of improved condition.
Even if it was true, I’d argue that it still doesn’t amount to any real variation that has an effect in a tactical sense. “It’s the same exact weapon as Weapon A, except it does 5 more point of damage” just means that it’s a more damaging version of Weapon A, and you’d be wise to use the upgraded version to the exclusion of Weapon A.
In Fallout 2, there was an actual system of benefits and drawbacks to whatever weapon you’d use in a given turn. Maybe you were facing numerous small opponents, and the speed loading .44 would allow you to shoot them all once, reload, and then have enough AP’s to dig in your pack and switch to a rocket launcher to deal with the big bad monster at the center of the mob. Or maybe you’d be better off using the sawed off .233 and shooting out the big bad monster’s eyes and then switching to an SMG when the mob of smaller guys got closer to you, or maybe you don’t have enough AP’s to change weapons and might risk getting knocked down/back if you run out of AP’s, so you just use the gauss pistol to take out all the enemies in front of you, or…
In Fallout 3, the only calculations seem to be “Are the enemies close, mid range, or far away? Do I have more ammo for the assault rifle or shotgun?”
I miss that degree of tactical flexibility from Fallout 2.
Even the addition of ammo with varying profiles mattered. The Rock-It Launcher seems to only change its damage profile based on the weight of the item you’re launching. But, for instance, in Fallout 2, switching to the right ammo would cut down on certain targets’ damage resistance or armor value, or what have you. That was another tactical nuance since you would have to decide if you were going for raw damage or if you wanted to pick a specific weapon for the task and then modify it a bit so that it would be more effective against armor, or what have you. With the Rock-It Launcher, the only choice is “Do I want to do more damage, or more damage?”
I never use the Rock-It Launcher myself, though I find it an excellent idea. It’s also slightly amazing to me how the physics engine works. Besides weight, the shape and center of gravity of the fired object affect how far it flies and how it behaves in mid-air. Compare a hammer and a plunger, and you’ll note the hammer flies head first whereas the plunger will wobble (or so I’ve noted. I’ve read that it’s because of the engine).
Now, if you could get the plungers to stick where you shoot them, I wouldn’t use any other gun, no matter how rubbish I think the Rock-It is. Imagine Super Mutants, slightly hurt but covered head to toe in plungers, chasing you through the Wasteland.
Oh yeah, I was struck again by how much weird stuff there is in this game. This is the third time I’m playing, so I’m not feeling much of a rush to do anything, which means I spend quite a lot of time roaming the countryside. In the northeast, a little bit south of Chaste Acres, I found a completely new thing - a little throwaway construction that had me rather surprised. Check it out.
I think that the core of the issue is the switch from FO2 style combat rounds in which your every action, including movement and inventory access, required Action Points. That style of combat practically requires more strategy and tactics; even trying to run away was limited by AP; if you had fewer AP than a Deathclaw, and the Deathclaw could still get in attacks after catching up to you, you were pretty much forced to fight or try to make it to one of the exit grids.
In FO3 of course, you can choose to ignore VATS and action points entirely; and not only are you not penalized AP for accessing inventory, you can pause the action in mid-fight with 2 HP left and consume 14 bags of Potato Crisps, 17 Nuka Colas, use 10 Stimpaks, and take doses of Jet and Psycho and Med-X and even clear up the Rads you just ingested using Radaway…and return to the fight fully healed and buffed up. So the strategic element that you miss from FO2 is clearly not what you find in FO3.
You should get this idea to a modder right this instant. That might even top the gravity gun for Best Game Weapon Ever.
I found a room somewhere (forgot where exactly, but it wasn’t a major location) and there were in fact about a half dozen plungers stuck to the walls at varying heights. Thought it was a nice touch!
Definitely. Also add a voice clip to the super mutants to say “Stop shooting sucky things at me!”
Yeah, that’s where I got the idea. It’s one of those named but not-on-the-map locations, under a bridge somewhere, IIRC. Ran straight home from there to build a launcher. I was very very disappointed.
So, can somebody tell me if I’d like Fallout 3? I didn’t play the first two. I enjoy gaming but I really, really suck at it. (Seriously. If it’s too twitchy I’ll get frustrated and quit.) Also, um, I can’t play games that are too scary. (It’s embarassing but true.) I had to put down Bioshock because it made me really nervous and gave me nightmares, although I was enjoying the hell out of it. So, am I gonna like this game, or not? Are there always things jumping out at me?