Okay so yeah I went to Rivet City too soon the first time I played for the Survival Guide quests. This time I am playing on PC, and playing a second time. My main quest objective is now "Gain entry to Rivet city". but I don't want to go there too soon this time.

So um did I again do some quest too soon? I avoided going even close to Rivet City this time. Is there some console command if I accidentally screwed up the plot again? Apparently I'm supposed to go near vault 101 and turn on the radio system or something(?). Or do I go near somewhere else? I did that repeatedly it did nothing. Where do I go at this point to get this fathers message thing I missed out on the first time?

You went to Rivet City to soon? Unless thats a moral choice, thats not a real issue. PM me where you are in the main quest line, and I can help sort you out, but Fallout 3 did a great job at sorting the plot out if you ever stumbled on a main quest to soon. You'll never "screw up" your game, it'll just pick up from there.

Are you talking about failing to go to Galaxy News Radio in Washington DC before Rivet City?

Yes. First time I played through I did the Survival Guide quest which required me to go to Rivet City first, then I later did the Galaxy News Radio station after it. This time I postponed the Survival Guide quest, the quest is active but I'm not completing the objective yet. Apparently the part of the plot I missed out on last time, was some message your characters father leaves behind for you, and if you don't get to listen to it before entering Rivet City you won't get to hear it. I think that's what it was.

I'm in the part of the main quest after you killed the first Super Mutant Behemoth, and repaired the radio station, and that's where I get the Rivet City objective.

As far as I remember, after repairing the Galaxy News Radio, the only thing left to do before visiting Rivet City is to talk to Three Dog, who points you towards the city anyway. You are not missing any information between talking to Three Dog and visiting Rivet City.

I would recommend getting to Rivet City earlier than later to be honest.

For the main story an option is to skip straight to tranquility Lane. I like doing this to avoid the chunks of XP you gain early game when doing the main questline. Also means 3 dog needs to find an alternative incentive to get you to do his dirty work...

Yeah, I've never really heard of any negative effects of heading over to River City, even straight out of the vault. :blink:

Many even suggest doing it in order to grab the Intelligence bobblehead before level 3.

There's no side effects of going to Rivet City early unless you talk to Dr. Li. If you do talk to her, you skip forward in the main quest.

Right. If you want to do the main quest start to finish, simply don't talk to Li until you've done the GNR quest.

I usually swim to Rivet City from the Super Duper Mart early on. that way, I don't get attacked, and I do get irradiated (a consideration if you want to rack up 600 rads for Moira). And, I get immediate access to the best businesses in the wastes, I can get Harkness's plasma rifle right off, and I can bring "Those!" to its most heartwarming conclusion without unnecessary difficulty. And with a stopover at the library (on the way there), I can sell the pre-war books I pick up in Minefield. To conclude, there is no downside to getting quick access to Rivet City.

im pretty sure that you can skip EVERYTHING up to vault 112 and it wont break, itll be a little weird (you wont meet sarah lyons until you reach the citadel, your gonna have to clear out the school to go to gnr yourself and the behemoth pops up RIGHT when you enter the area, but thankfully the brotherhood is still theree)