How? He doesn't have any factories at his disposal. The most intelligent man in the universe couldn't code a software driver and then build a chip to store it without the proper tools in his hands. He has a useless body, so he has to act through securitrons within a very small radius or he can't reliably control them. Given his limitations I think he did a stellar job. Somehow he managed to get millions of caps and organized excavations of Sunnyvale remotely, and then had a very good plan to get the chip to him (that went wrong, of course).

Err, a software doesnt need a factory. You need nothing more complex than a computer to code software, and he's got one of those (a rather nifty one in fact).

Okay, he wouldnt have been able to immediately upgrade the bots sitting under the fort without the chip; however he would have been able to upgrade the bots on the strip and then be able to look into other alternatives to get into or close enough to the securitron vault (IIRC the Vegas Securitrons received their upgrade over the air, broadcast from the Lucky 38). Maybe those alternatives might not have panned out and thus require the chip, but a genius could have solved the problem with the local bots.

Solve one problem at a time.

He's connected to a program that allows him to see through his securitrons and send out packets of data that I assumed were pre-set. What I meant is he would need a physical computer to actually create the code, and the factory to put the code onto a device readable by his primary computer in the Lucky 38. If we assume he can create code himself and transfer it to his computer for relay, it does create a problem to the story. Though I don't think the evidence supports that he can do that.

The impression I got (and this is up for debate) was that his control was limited to an interface he had already set up, so all he could do were things that he had pre-programmed in. For example, "Shut off securitron 105", or "Take direct control of securitron 83". If we take it for granted he has semi-normal access to a supercomputer, it does start to pose problems. Though considering how special the platinum chip was, even before the war, one can assume that programming something as sophisticated as a combat system AI in this universe would require a skilled team, not one brilliant man.

Edit: Further, if he can write out code that sophisticated and relay it, why not write out code to lock access to Hoover Dam to anyone but him? Why not access a few of his Robco factories that are still intact and see if he could get some sentry bots under his control, or get the factories churning out more robots with the remaining materials they have?

Oh, and he does mention that he has to revert to a dated version of his operating software due to the system crashes caused by the great war.

He's plugged into a physical computer. We know he can write documents - he wrote the NCR's surrender terms in the House Wins track. Since we know he can create text documents, all he needs to be able to do is run a compiler program and have it read the code in the text document.

We're also not talking about creating an AI - the AI is created, it just needs to be told how to fire the weapons. We're talking about just creating the driver to access it. New OS isn't always required for new Hardware. I'm not saying the new OS isnt better, and is probably designed to handle those weapons better, but I'm surprised he didn't create a work around given the amount of time he had, and the likely possibility that the chip would be irrecoverable (this is a guy that knows the odds after all).

House's goal isnt just to sit where he is, he's looking to start a space program and start space colonisation which he thinks he can establish in a century. If he cant create new programs to handle new functions and situations, he's going to be limited to just sitting tight where he is, he wont be able to directly control any of his future creations (and he's not going to like that - the guys very much into control);


House did write some lock out code. You need to install it in the Dam in the House Wins track, and I think its an option in the Wild Card track. Once its installed, House is able to establish control. Given that Hoover Dam is considered an essential piece of infrastructure its going to be locked up very tight from external access thus preventing him from just doing it remotely. Sounds like House has created (or procured from somewhere) a Trojan Horse program to allow him full access through firewalls (or the Fallout world equivalent).

As for the RobCo facilities, they're not in great shape. Even if they are useful, House's current broadcasting range at the start of new vegas isnt enough to establish control - he couldn't even get a strong enough connection to control Victor enough to attack Benny when he shot the courier. This is due to the Lucky 38 reactor being offline (a problem resolved with the installation of the override chip in the El Dorado Substation).


Which he's had time to look at and fix. Regained conciousness 2168, made his presence known in 2274,

Haha, no. Are you attempting to make a point here as to why FO3 is bad but New Vegas is not, despite your arguments being a lot stronger against New Vegas? Yes, if I lived in a close-knit community for 18 years and had never so much as seen the outside world other than from a video, was suddenly expelled from that community and my only respite from this was most likely through my father, I'd certainly search for him and so would you, guaranteed. Over time, you'd naturally deviate from your persistent search (as you make it sound, since it had the utmost urgency, which is never really conveyed) because you'd have no choice. Obviously we know otherwise in a game, but in reality we'd start to feel it's hopeless and start to look out for ourselves. The pace at which I'd search for my father would reduce drastically.

Regarding "how about not dying?"-- exactly! Now you understand why the character's motivations in New Vegas don't make any sense at all, why the plot is contrived and the game largely svcks as far as immersion goes. Who is more likely to take on the wasteland? A naive vault dweller with nothing going for them since being expelled from the vault, searching for their father and attempting to find their place in their new home or a should-be vegetable that survived being shot in the head, whose sole motivation from the moment they wake up is to recover a poker chip (the very same poker chip they were probably shot in the head for)? You have no idea what the poker chip does, so that's entirely irrelevant. As far as you know it could send radio signals out to Benny so he knows to send a bunch of people and have you executed simply for holding onto it or... you know, it could just be a poker chip.

With respect to your average person murdering 10 people before breakfast, no-- that is every Fallout game. In New Vegas alone, you have people dying over Sarsaparilla bottle caps, for being considered heretics or simply for owning a picnic table. You're attacked by a group of Jackals (a raider group introduced in the first Fallout) on your way to Nipton in New Vegas as well. They don't speak with you or anything. Just attack on sight.

The poker chip is what you were killed for, but it isn't the motivation for finding Benny. I don't know about you, but I think most people would be pretty pissed off if someone shot them and they survived the ordeal. There have been quite a few movies made based on that premise (Kill Bill, for one), and hunting the bastard down for some wasteland revenge doesn't strike me as even remotely forced. Recovering the chip and making the delivery is secondary.. and entirely optional, you can choose not to deliver it, too.



Alright, I might admit I was wrong on this point. Fallout 3 had a bit 'more' ridiculous an amount of killing in it, with killing loads and loads of people having no real consequences, but I guess that's just something one has to accept in a video game. Even Bioware games (which have extremely believable, detailed settings) have that. *shrug* It can still annoy me, a society with a murder rate ten times higher than its birth rate wouldn't last one generation.

This is your (very subjective) interpretion of F3's story, which does not mesh with the plot as presented. Not every part of a story has to be spelled out in blunt detail. For all your character knows, your father left the vault and headed into a dangerous wasteland mere hours before you were thrown out. If that doesn't convey urgency, I guess nothing does unless it's a big flashy quest marker and a quest description reading "go find your dad before he dies!" Also, the character you describe has no excuse to deviate from their search for even a moment, since there's no reason to give up hope and stray from your path. At no point is the character clueless about the father's potential location, the goal is always clear and the objective . Upon reaching Megaton, Moriaty points you to GNR, where you are told dad went to Rivet City, where you immediatly find out his distination in the wasteland. You're never left in the dark or forced to get involved in tedious investigation. You never face a dead end or don't know the exact next step in your search. At which of these steps would any reasonable character start to believe "I guess I'm never gonna find dad" and give up the search just so they can skip off for some meaningless fun in the wastes?

What you did is the same I did when playing F3: Twisting my perception of the situation I was faced with in order to prevent the plot from destroying my sense of immersion.



I guess I see now where your difficulties lie in the transition from F3 to NV. Where F3 provided you with your character's backstory and dictated your motivation, NV is much more open and flexible about these things. The game does not railroad you in terms of the Courier's past and personality, but leaves these things to the player's imagination - which in my opinion is what any good RPG should do. Seeing how the game makes no definite statement concerning the protagonist's personality, making any judgement about their motivation is simply invalid. If you are unable to come up with any character concept who would at least be mildy interested in any of the events occuring in the Mojave (you don't even have to go after Benny to finish the game), however, then perhaps RPGs are just not the genre your're looking for.

Aww, you stole my thunder. :cryvaultboy:

Couldn't have said it better myself, in other words.

Actually, the chip very well could be your motivation for finding Benny, did you read your contract?



I'm not a lawyer, especially not one trained in the legal system of the New Californian Republic, however my lay interpretation of this suggests my name is mud if I don't get the chip back. I'm going to at the very least have to find the cash to pay back my advance (how much cash did benny leave me again?), I may end up an outlaw or the target of a hitman. The last sentance seems to suggest I'm expected to attempt to recover it by any means neccessary (hence why they're not responsible for loss of life). Seems I have a stark choice - get the chip, or follow Cassidy east.

I guess thats just another good thing about NV - you can chose your motivation for going after Benny, are you after revenge, or do you just want to do your job (and get on with your life)? Just simply pretending it all never happened isn't going to get you out of this one.

I did read the contract, actually, and I agree it 'can' be the motivation for the main quest. Though the chip is usually the last thing on the mind of my characters. I was just noting that it doesn't have to be in response to someone claiming that the chip is the driving force of the main quest, and it isn't.. or at very least isn't unless you make that choice for your character.

One really, really tiny nitpick: It's the 'Mojave Express', so I'm thinking it's a small, privately owned company and not under the jurisdiction of the NCR.