So I had this Idea, since you always have like, four times the health of all the enemies, why not set it to hard to rebalance it?
Also, I know some people are going to say,

"Thats not harder, thats just restricting"

But I think that it makes the game more challenging.

1) I can't use VATS.
2) I can only carry 1000 rounds total.
3) I can't have a ridiculous amount of weapons, only 4, 2 pistols and 2 rifles.
4) I can only have one set of armor,
5) I can only have one point in Endurance and Strength, but I can get the bobbleheads.
6) I must eat and drink every in-game night, if not, I must consider myself dead and reload my previous save.
7) I can go 3 days without sleep, if I do, I must eat and drink more, if I go for a whole week without sleep, I die from exhaustion, reload previous save.
8) I must subtract 50 pounds from my carry weight, unless I am using power armor.
9) I can only specialize in one weapon type, small guns, energy weapons, or big guns, I can use them, but I can only put points into one.
10) Final rule, I can use either melee weapons or unarmed as a backup fighting skill.


If you want, add your own, but otherwise, please comment.

Are you playing on the Xbox or PS3? Because if you are on PC there are lots of excellent mods to make Fallout 3 more challenging, including reduced carry weight, the need to eat/drink/sleep, reduced maximum health and equal SPECIAL points (you have 5 points more than NPCs, which puts you at an advantage), etc. Whatever you want.

Self imposed restrictions to make the game more challenging can be fun, but when a mod can do that for you it's easier.

Sounds a bit like you're on a console but desperately want some mods.

There are mods that do some of the things you suggest, as well as some that improve the AI considerably.

For the console, it's all about your own self-control (which I lack).

If I could have my dreams for changing the game: more politics between factions (problems with joining rival factions); properly fleshed out factions with leadership, bases, communication, etc.; Enemies that defend bases properly instead of running out after you to be mowed down like sheep; bigger world; a weight limit that scales properly from "not bothered by the weight at all" to "unable to move"; a proper inventory system with items "in your pack" or "on your person" to control what you can access and use in combat.

Oh so many more.

Arwen's Realism Tweaks has some very good Combat AI tweaks that does this. http://amito.freehostia.com/Fallout/FO-mods04.htm#SmartAI It's not perfect, but a whole lot better than vanilla.

Get the PC version... go with Arwen's, FWE, or a smaller mix of mini-mods.

- Move the bobbleheads around to http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=6395
- Make skillbooks http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=14173 (but add more locations too)
- Get MMM (http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=3211) and go with increased spawns, soft unleveling and dynamic player scaling
- Make http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=9250
- Install a http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=10607 (Xepha's) that makes nights darker
- Make the NPCs http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=11750
- Add http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=14325
- Revamp the http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=839

There's also mods that make weapons deadlier, turn healing into healing-over-time instead of instant, etc.

Love the first one. I'm level thirteen and I've only found three bobbleheads so far.

Second one is great at first, but then you learn to exploit it to make your game easier in a lot of situations. Still plenty dangerous in other situations though.

This is what I do on the 360, it's quite fun and difficult:

1. No fast travel allowed.
2. No sleeping in the wastes unless you have a companion. Who's gonna watch your back?
3. Ammo and meds have weight. For example, for my hunting rifle, I am only carrying 40 rounds. I can only carry one missile. If I screw up, so be it.
4. One Big Gun, one mid-ranged weapon, one up close and personal weapon, for me, the spiked knuckles.
5. You cannot repair out in the wastes, only at a workbench in a safe place, like your house, craterside supply, rivet city, etc. If I am carrying too much, I have to dump something.
6. I am allowed to pop one stim during a battle. I cannot spam stims. If I get crippled, I must walk my crippled ass to a doctor.
7. Two radaways and two rad-x's only per walkabout.
8. My home does not contain a lab, or a healing station. If I need fixin', it's off to the doc.
9. I cannot be over-encumbered. Something must get left behind.

Here are the important things:

10. Playing on Hard.
11. My SPECIAL, is nothing special. I do not have educated or comprehension. I only have 14 points to add when I level up.
12. I will not be taking all bobbleheads and powerful perks. I do not read all skill books, only the ones I am tagged in. Some useless perks, at least to me, must be taken.
13. When leveling up, I can only add points to skills that I used in the previous level.
14. No Reaper's Sprint, Action Boy, blah blah blah.
15. I can only make money by scavenging Sugar Bombs, dealing with some ghouls, collecting Quantums and what I find.

And the most important thing:

16. My barter level is at 14, what I received on the GOAT. It will stay there forever. Here's the deal, when I am selling things, the final transaction must equal 0. So instead of selling, it turns into bartering/trading. It must equal zero, or the deal is off. I cannot trade for ammo that will weigh too much as well. All I've been able to afford is a workbench. I need to keep some caps for repairs, and for buying food when I stop for meals or drinks with my good buddy Jericho at the end of the day.

My guy is evil, Carries Eugene, Old Painless, sometimes switching out with the Metal Blaster and my spiked knuckles. Some nades too. I'm not doing all quests....

Actually not playing Fallout for a whole month when traveling too and from PL.

Does anyone know if there is a mod that replicates an actual 24 hour day?

I am talking about on the console
I have the PC version and I use FWE, but I enjoy the console more because I like the feel of the controller, if I could mod the 360 for fallout, I would use FWE, FWE is FTW!

- Dead is dead
- 1 point in Int.
- No Stimpaks
- Regular clothing only
- Eat and drink to heal
- No healing during combat
- no VATS
- No weapons
- Unarmed can only be brass knuckles or fists
- You cannot repair your own items
- Combat must be avoided whenever possible

S - 8
P - 7
E - 9
C - 9
I - 1
A - 5
L - 1

Tag:
Unarmed
barter
speech

Perks:

2 - Lady Killer
3 - Thief
4 - Child at heart
5 - Iron Fist
6 - Lead Belly
7 - Iron Fist
8 - Rad Resistance
9 - Iron Fist
10 - Here and Now
11 - Scoundrel
12 - Scoundrel
13 - Scoundrel
14 - Impartial Mediation
15 - Strong Back
16 - Cannibal
17 - Lawbringer
18 - Contract Killer
19 - Master Trader
20 - Tag!
21 - Grim Reaper's Sprint
22 - Explorer
23 - Deep Sleep
24 - Puppies!
25 - Devil's Highway
26 - Escalator to Heaven
27 - Karmic Rebalance
28 - Bloody Mess
29 - Fast Metabolism
30 - Nuclear Anomaly

There now RP an unlucky merchant with a drug addiction.

Turn off the HUD.

(Go to Settings and set HUD Opacity to 0)

You can't mod the 360, but you can use your controller on PC.

That's what I'm doing. It's too bad some of the mods don't work with the 360 controller (like bullet time in FWE.) At least I haven't been able to figure out how.

Probably have to use a program like Joy2Key or similar to map the controller key to a keyboard button. FOSE seems to only allow scanning for keyboard keys, not controller buttons.

@ Wyatt Waste Ranger

Woah! Not that much more challenging!

There are mods that will change the timescale (I use a 2x slower day / slower night, so nights last longer and night vision goggles become more important). Plus it can give you time to pull off most all of Adams Airforce Base before the sun comes back up in the morning.

I've just started a new character on my 360 and these are my rules. (nothing too different from whats been posted)

1) No fast travel.

2) No VATS... not even to check an area for enemies.

3) I can carry - 2 x 1 handed weapon, 2 x 2 handed weapon, 10 grenades (various types), 1000 rounds of ammo (various types), 20 chems (various types), 1 melee weapon (not above 8 in weight), 5 pieces of food, 6 drinks, 1 stealth boy, 1 suit of armour or 2 types of clothing (other than what I am wearing), 2 helmets or 4 head garments (other than what I am wearing), and then an extra 50lbs for loot items. (The total usually adds up to 90lbs-ish, unless i have or wear power armour, which I don't tend to)... I did think about increasing this weight limit because it's actually less than I can bench-press (by a long way), but for long distances I think it's about right as my stamina fails.

4) No energy weapons. (Too powerful, and I don't like them,... mainly because they are far fetched for the time and history that FO3 is set in, ex mea sententia)

5) Big Guns can only be used as they are found upon victims and not carried for great distances (basically I can't take them away from where I found it.... I mean, how many solo operatives carry big guns? It is not wise to have cumbersome weapons when lacking decent support from other types of combatents. Just going off what my mate in the Royal Marines says, I trust him).

6) I can only repair a weapon or armour when no enemies are near (I check if I'm able to fast travel, if it gives me the option then this is my 'all clear' to repair.)

7) When I'm in the Wastelands no more than 3 hours sleep is allowd at a time.

8) No companions (they tend to just piss me off anyway, theres only Jericho I can tolerate and he is pretty rubbish)

9) No books. No Bobbleheads. Ignore them.

10) I can level my tagged skills and 3 others. Not until one of these skills is maxed out can I level any other.

11) Restricted perks. No Intense training, no swift learner, no educated, no comprehension (not that it matters without books), no extra tagged skill, and no perk that ups your skill points ('gun nut', and such).

12) Play on hard till lvl 5 then very hard after that.

13) Power Armour can not be worn or carried for long distances. All travel must be within a 3x3 square (like the ones on the map) from the point of acquisition.


Edit: Typo.

Equip yourself with minimal equipment - 1 outfit (no power armor), 3 weapons (no uniques) with limited ammo, a few explosives, very few meds, a little water and food. Turn off the HUD.

Now the fun part - Next have someone else in the room “fast travel” your character to a random location while you’re not looking. Find your way back to your home base without using the map.

I don't do these, but as a suggestion.

Use only Wasteland Wanderer/settler clothes as armor.
10 Stimpacks at any time unless you find them while scavving.
100 bottlecaps unless you find some while scavving.
Carry only one rifle or assault rifle, one pistol and knife.
Carry Purified Water.
Only If crippled only a docter can heal you.
Only carry one suit of Power Armor from a dead opponent.

I don't argue with the VATS one. VATS is the only thing tactical about Fallout 3's combat and I don't think it is a good idea to limit yourself there.

Why not

I wonder if there's a mod to make the game world so dark that you need to use the pip boy light all the time. That would amp the difficulty up a bit...

http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=2672: http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/images/2672-1-1269771525.jpg

http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=9250: http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/images/9250-1-1281486580.jpg

With those I'm using the pip boy light a lot.

This sounds pretty funny. :thumbsup:

I'm running Fellout as well, and walking around the wasteland at night is really quite eerie. Almost makes the game more of a survival horror at night.