I'm playing through Fallout 1 for the first time now, and I've gotten to The Hub and Necropolis to continue my search for the water chip. I would like to explore this world a bit more, take some time to get to know the various towns and settlements and help out with various side quests and stuff. I did some in Junktown and Shady Sands, but that darn clock ticking away telling me that I only got 101 days left to find that water chip is gnawing and the back of my mind, and it's making me rush through it all without exploring anything unless it's necessary for the main quest. I have already gotten another 100 days (so it's now 200 days until deadline) by paying 1000 caps to a water merchant woman in The Hub, but I can't keep spending all my caps on that in the future.

How did you guys solve this? Is there enough days to explore some? Can I continue playing the game after the water chip is found? I have this growing suspicion that finding the water chip will only lead to me having another great main quest goal to finish in a set amount of days, putting me sort of back to square one on the exploring problem.

You have time to do some exploring. The time limit is there to add a sense of urgency, and it works, but you still have plenty of time to find the chip. In town time passes in real time, unless you rest a lot. The biggest thing that eats away at the time limit is traveling, so as long as you stay within a town you can explore all you want and never worry about the limit. Once you find the water chip there is more to the game, another time limit is imposed but you don't ever see it and you really don't need to worry about it. So go forth and enjoy the wasteland.

Ok, thanks, nice to know. I have gotten the watership now, and still got way over 100 days to deliver it. So I can take advantage of that and explore some now before I deliver it.

And keep in mind that the game does NOT end when you deliver the water chip to Vault 13

Yeah, I've just delivered the water chip, so I'm hoping the next time limit isn't something I need to worry about, as SteveDog said.

I'm not sure if I'm correct, but I believe the next time limit is 12 years. No need to worry.

Ah, I can live with that time limit.