Why does nobody know the Courier? : Fallout: New Vegas

» Sun Mar 06, 2011 7:30 am

The Pip-Boy for free was a little bit disappointing.

Would have been better if while you were in the Docs house he tells you about some other guy who was brought in a few days ago and how he couldn't save him.....and he has the pipboy on his arm lying dead on a gurney. Then he tells you that you may aswell take it as it won't do him any good. Could turn it into a quest to find out who it was and which vault he came from even, by leaving a couple of notes stored on the pip boy from the previous owner.

» Sun Mar 06, 2011 5:33 am

it would also be nice if your character actually speaks like Mass Effect.

No it wouldn't, I hated the aggressive/condescending tone that FemShep took in every conversation. I'd rather imagine my own character's voice in my head than have someone else's forced on me thank you very much!

» Sun Mar 06, 2011 2:17 am

I think it's MORE bizarre that you've lived your advlt life as a wasteland courier, and yet you have no idea about survival, guns, etc etc. You should start the game with all these in place already. And have strong back to carry the big loads the Mojave Express requires you to carry.

(Maybe the age slider could come into place here: you select a young age, then you have no idea, and have to go through training : for beginners. You select the older age, then all your skills come into play: for FO3 veterans. Seems strange that was overlooked, but there we go)

» Sun Mar 06, 2011 1:19 am

I think it's MORE bizarre that you've lived your advlt life as a wasteland courier, and yet you have no idea about survival, guns, etc etc. You should start the game with all these in place already. And have strong back to carry the big loads the Mojave Express requires you to carry.

(Maybe the age slider could come into place here: you select a young age, then you have no idea, and have to go through training : for beginners. You select the older age, then all your skills come into play: for FO3 veterans. Seems strange that was overlooked, but there we go)

Like someone else mentioned, you just took a bullet to the face. Amnesia would be getting off lightly.

» Sun Mar 06, 2011 2:39 pm

Not just to Face from what I gather it actaully went into the brain.

» Sun Mar 06, 2011 12:35 pm

I'm pretty sure it was mentioned somewhere in the game (or maybe not, but I know Josh Sawyer mentioned it on another forum) that the Courier is from California. Other than that he is a blank slate. That's a good thing as far as I'm concerned and while I do like the Vault background in the first game, I think the Courier might be my favorite start to a Fallout game. It doesn't state anything limiting about your past, but it still gives you a personal reason to go out into the wastes.

Also, if you meet the comedian from New Reno, there is a dialogue option that's basically "hey, didn't I see you perform in New Reno?" or something to that extent.

» Sun Mar 06, 2011 7:06 am

Hey, all I'm saying is, 99.9999% of the time, the only way to get a Pip-Boy is to come from a Vault.

The Doc gives you his PipBoy, he came from Vault 21.

Don't you guys talk to NPCs?

» Sun Mar 06, 2011 1:50 am

Yeesh people talk to npcs already and pay attention to stuff in game..

Your unknown because you have never been there before.

You BECOME known because mr las vegas talks about you on the freaking radio right after you get shot and because you come out of the lucky 38 the only one to have done so EVER.

As for why doc gives you the pip boy its blindingly obvious why.. mr house.

» Sun Mar 06, 2011 8:47 am

So, in short, next time people want to start at level 10 (I mean, level 1 would make no sense right, you're like all experienced and everything!), while being dropped into a gameworld without any explanation as to who they are or what they're doing (I mean, you're supposed to know that alreay right? How could you ever forget, you're you!),

Sorry, but it is just painfully obvious that things are handled the way they are because it's the best plot device to show you who you are and what your goal is as the story progresses, rather than having to need to read a 200 page manual to read up on who you're supposed to be. If you're protesting against that, I can't help but think you're protesting just for the sake of it.

» Sun Mar 06, 2011 2:55 pm

What about

Spoiler

Benny. When you confront him, he knows who you are instantly.

That kind of rules out major facial reconstruction. Maybe just minor surgery around the place you were shot. Also, there are a couple dialoge options that can imply the character has been to certain places, so amnesia is also out.

» Sun Mar 06, 2011 3:33 pm

Let me start by saying that I haven't finished the game so I don't know if the following is revealed as the game progresses but I am more concerned about "who" the courier really is more than anything else. I can understand the many reasons why folks may not recognize the Courier. What I don't understand is how he (himself) doesn't even know where he's from. Perhaps the bullet to the head has caused some amnesia? If that's the case then wouldn't it make more sense for others to recognize him since he can't remember?

When you meet Veronica for the first time she asks you where your from. I thought the replies were vague and generic. "Goodsprings, The Grave, I'm not entirely sure and None of your business". I was a bit disappointed with these options. Prior Fallout games allowed you to relive the characters past, the lack of this in NV has left me feeling a bit disconnected with this character.

» Sun Mar 06, 2011 2:20 pm

What about

Spoiler

Benny. When you confront him, he knows who you are instantly.

That kind of rules out major facial reconstruction. Maybe just minor surgery around the place you were shot. Also, there are a couple dialoge options that can imply the character has been to certain places, so amnesia is also out.

Amnesia is not all black and white. You may lose some or most of your memories due to head trauma, and you may or may not recover some or all of your memories. Post-traumatic Amnesia is the most solid explanation in this case, because the Courier was shot in the head.

"Post-traumatic amnesia is generally due to a head injury (e.g., a fall, a knock on the head). Traumatic amnesia is often transient, but may be permanent of either anterograde, retrograde, or mixed type. The extent of the period covered by the amnesia is related to the degree of injury and may give an indication of the prognosis for recovery of other functions. Mild trauma, such as a car accident that results in no more than mild whiplash, might cause the occupant of a car to have no memory of the moments just before the accident due to a brief interruption in the short/long-term memory transfer mechanism. The sufferer may also lose knowledge of who people are, they may remember events, but will not remember faces of them."

- Wikipedia

» Sun Mar 06, 2011 6:34 am

The Courier is from California. You were transporting something made at a Southern California factory back in the 2070s. Some merc found it and then 6 couriers from Southern California were hired to take it to New Vegas.

» Sun Mar 06, 2011 12:34 pm

Well, going from the Intro video my character went from a white male to an african-american female, so I can see why most people may not have recognized me immediately.

» Sun Mar 06, 2011 10:59 am

If I recall, that bullet to your noggin forced the doc to do some facial reconstruction. At least I seem to remember hearing something like that before the release.

This.

» Sun Mar 06, 2011 5:28 am

Could turn it into a quest to find out who it was and which vault he came from even, by leaving a couple of notes stored on the pip boy from the previous owner.

And then in the vault you can find a computer to update your Pipboy software to improve the UI.

» Sun Mar 06, 2011 7:59 am

Was the courier from a vault? S/He has a Pip-Boy and no one thinks that S/He is from a vault

Nobody cares if the courier is from a vault. The bleeding Great Khans (well, the original Khans, alongside the Vipers, and Jackals) originate from a vault. It's not special.

» Sun Mar 06, 2011 5:31 am

And then in the vault you can find a computer to update your Pipboy software to improve the UI.

I already went on that quest back in Oblivion so I knew exactly where to go for Fallout New Vegas.

» Sun Mar 06, 2011 10:04 am

People really don't pay attention, do they?

Spoiler

The note in your pip boy says that you are to deliver the package to the north gate of New Vegas by way of Freeside. There an agent of the recipient will take the package and pay you. You are to return to Johnson Nash in Primm to deliver payment.

When you get to Pimm in the main quest, Johnson Nash introduces himself as the man who runs the Primm branch, not the Head Quarters, of the Mohave Express. Note that Johnson Nash has no idea who you are, even after you give him the note.

When you speak with Mr. House he says that he spent years, and lots of money, on recovery teams to find the chip. It was in a town called Sunnydale, "at least back then." Now, there are some "Sunnydale" places in the world, but considering this is fallout, it's very likely a nod to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, a show Falica Day/Veronica had a minor role in. This would put Sunnydale in California, likely silicon valley, somewhere in it's own little cannon universe. This is purely a suspension on my part, but I think a logical one.

It would make sense that, after finding the chip, Mr. House would have it delivered via the Mohave Express on the final leg of the journey. Looking at a real life map, you were likely given the package at some point on the California side of the Mohave and asked to travel up the I-15, which is where you were ambushed by Benny. Given this likely route, it makes it even more practical that the chip came from "Sunnydale, Ca." Now, if Sunnydale is in the Silicon Valley or not, is just speculation.

This is the min quest suggested route, mapped out by Google:
[img]http://www.operationsports.com/forums/albumpicture.php?albumid=1171&pictureid=17226[/img]

P.S. Novac is named after the sign at the Motel that only has the letters No Vac for "No Vacancy."

» Sun Mar 06, 2011 8:35 am

Well, going from the Intro video my character went from a white male to an african-american female, so I can see why most people may not have recognized me immediately.

The intro video doesn't show anything regarding gender or skin color. When you look down at your hands as you're struggling with the ties around them in the grave, it shows you wearing gloves.

Just saying

» Sun Mar 06, 2011 1:03 pm

On the topic of why nobody knows the courier, the game never actually says where the PC came from, just that he was supposed to be delivering something. That gives the player the ability to act like their character came from wherever they want, were as old as they want (unlike FO3 where you're forced to be like 19 or something), and had whatever kind of past the like.

On the topic of the Pip Boy, I thought that the Pip Boy couldn't be removed, I remember playing a certain DLC for FO3 where scientists found that Pip Boys were permanently attached and couldn't be taken off thats why they killed Gary.

» Sun Mar 06, 2011 10:28 am

The intro video doesn't show anything regarding gender or skin color. When you look down at your hands as you're struggling with the ties around them in the grave, it shows you wearing gloves.

Just saying

I could have sworn I saw a bit of skin. Ah well. There's still the general shape of the form and the wake up gasp is pretty masculine. I wouldn't be surprised if our starting model was a generic white male as it is typically regarded the "default" in our culture.

It was mostly a tongue-in-cheek comment anyway. From what I gathered my character was a Courier from outside Mojave and it's not possible that the facial reconstruction is considered a legit story-effect as people who've seen you before Mitchell's work recognize you anyway.

» Sun Mar 06, 2011 12:47 pm

despite the fact that PGaither84 just schooled this entire forum post. Even if the courier was from around those parts, I wouldnt recognise my postman or anyone else who has ever delivered a parcel let alone if they had a hair cut or facial reconstruction.

» Sun Mar 06, 2011 7:01 am

Thank you Rhubarb.

Spoiler

In fact, upon playing more tonight, Mr. House finally said the chip was minted in Sunnydale Ca. So now I know it wasn't some generic Sunnydale that could be anywhere in the world. Now, where Sunnydale was supposed to be located, and if it was supposed to be the same Sunnydale as Buffy the Vampire Slayer is neither here nor there.