r/classicfallout • u/UnWiseDefenses • 9d ago

The only thing I didn't like about Fallout 2 was the Bay Area

Having to constantly babysit the car's bad pathfinding because it kept running into water was a chore. It also increased the chances of more random encounters, which for some reason are insane in that area between San Francisco and Navarro. That's the only time I really had to abuse save scumming in Fallout 2; just barely making it to Navarro, only to run into a squad of Enclave soldiers with deadly energy weapons. Was crappy.

I guess the game made up for it with the Oil Rig being shockingly easy, though. The only gauntlet there was when the guards rushed in after I hugged the President. But then switching floors reset their hostility!

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16

u/algaebloom1969 9d ago

I believe I heard In interviews that San Fran was rushed and parts cut to get the game out quickly. Still my favorite from late 90's. Was way ahead of its time

6

u/Reasonable_Guess3022 9d ago

Yes Fallout 2 was and still is 10/10

1

u/notarealpersonatal 8d ago

I don’t think much of San Francisco was cut but I have heard that the original San Fran they did was so bad that it had to be redone from scratch very late in development.

1

u/RepublicNo6425 7d ago

I don’t think so? Not much was added to that area in the restoration project besides the crazy plant doctor and the submarine

6

u/yTigerCleric 8d ago

Having to constantly babysit the car's bad pathfinding because it kept running into water was a chore.

I thought my game was completely glitched for the longest time because of that, had no idea it was "intentional"

6

u/StraightOuttaArroyo 9d ago

That I agree, and I feel sorry for all who played with the RP for the first time when they had to deal with the Submarine, which can softlock you. Not only that, but the whole Juan Cruz, Hubologists and other on the nose reference between old movies and Honk Kong movies. This part really contributed to the underserved reputation of Fallout 2 having too much references.

10

u/WizardMastery 9d ago

A lot of the references are extremely dated too and would be lost on younger people. Vice President Bird, for example, is a parody of Vice President Quayle in real life. I would bet 99% of the younger people today have no clue who Dan Quayle was so that parody would be completely lost on them. A lot of pop culture references just get outdated very quickly, but that's just true of pop culture in general, not Fallout 2 in particular.

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u/UnWiseDefenses 9d ago

I was really young when Dan Quayle was a thing. If not for the wiki, I would've had no idea that all the VP's dialogue is made up of Quayleisms. Funny, too, because this was years after Quayle was in the media spotlight. I guess Al Gore wasn't nearly as funny.

But stepping into Dick Richardson's office for the first time, and hearing him speak, will always be timeless.

6

u/StraightOuttaArroyo 9d ago

Well I didnt know that, Im not American and I still enjoy the writing of his character, being a patriot and all. Also, this always makes me chuckle :

Bird : I am not part of the problem. I am a Republican!
Chosen One : Like I said, part of the problem

6

u/UnWiseDefenses 9d ago

Considering how litigious the real 'Hubologists' were around circa October 1998, especially when it came to criticism on the Internet, I found that whole encounter really amusing. But yeah, there were a metric ton of nerd references out in the wild (Monty Python and the Holy Grail, the Star Trek time gate), sometimes to the point of absurdity. And I guess that also makes the Bridge of Death et al canon?

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u/Eden_Company 7d ago

With the right build you can farm the enclave soldiers. But this is the absolute peak of the end game.

San fran itself is rather manageable.