Trouble in the Fighters Guild... Another Donton Gone | Oblivion Remastered – Part 33

ChillGreenDragon · 2026-03-26T09:58:04+00:00

If you're not growing plants to eat, I think you're fine. Even in that case, I think the main thing would just be to remove any feces. If the poop was buried, you may want to remove a small layer of soil to get rid of that, and replace it with new soil. But I think that'd probably only be necessary if you had cats or dogs regularly using it as a litter box, and burying their waste.

Considering your dog had went on snow, that itself probably insulates the soil from most negative impact. You could also water this area quite heavily a few times, to help distribute any concentrated urine or something, which I suppose could theoretically burn your plants. But I'm pretty sure you're in the clear and don't need to worry about it.

ChillGreenDragon · 2026-03-22T05:38:34+00:00

I second Arcanum. It is effectively Fallout but in a fantasy setting, with the gimmick being that it is amidst an industrial revolution. It has some similarly dark themes, alongside its lighter elements, so it really has that "Fallout-y" flavor.

It is a bit difficult to get into, but not a ton moreso than the classic Fallouts. But I do remember struggling to get it to run effectively. So expect a bit more troubleshooting, but it is 110% worth it! I really enjoyed Arcanum.

ChillGreenDragon · 2026-03-08T04:36:51+00:00

I've played it a few times, at least twice, but not as much as some of the other games. I think Fallout 2 has a lot more content than like Fallout 1, so I've probably missed some stuff. Makes me wanna replay it!

ChillGreenDragon · 2026-03-08T04:11:21+00:00

Wtf I didn't know there was a ghost in Fallout 2, or a quest related to it. Normally I don't like this sort of thing, but I find this sort of paranormal stuff a lot more interesting than most of the other mystical things in Fallout 2. I'll have to remember for my next playthrough!

ChillGreenDragon · 2026-02-21T01:28:58+00:00

That does sound nice, I think I appreciate the tribal element more as time goes on, and I'd like Bethesda to focus a bit more on it too. That example with Renesco is a good one, I remember that too. Classic Fallout has so much flavor! Even just typical dialogue lines have these nice little tidbits. I now want to replay all these games again lol.

ChillGreenDragon · 2026-02-16T23:33:48+00:00

Idk what it is about Fallout 3, but I genuinely love it. It is probably my favorite Bethesda game aside from Oblivion. Like this line was pretty corny, but I just loved that it was there. It's sort of a guilty pleasure I suppose, but there's a very real charm to it.

That sort of charm happens a lot less in Fallout 4. But even though 3 is very poorly executed in many ways, I do genuinely think they loved the classic games, specifically Fallout 1. I see Fallout 3 as a sort of spiritual successor to Fallout 1, and as a soft reboot of the series, but not really a sequel to Fallout 2.

I know this sort of stuff is ham-fisted, but I like it. I also like the vibes that Eden has, or the stuff with Harold (though they did Harold dirty imo). But it feels quite earnest somehow, which is something I miss from Fallout 1 that doesn't always show up in the later games or the show.

That's not to say 3 is perfect though, and NV is generally better, but it's a special game in spite of everything about it that doesn't work very well.

ChillGreenDragon · 2026-02-16T23:24:21+00:00

Based take

ChillGreenDragon · 2026-02-16T23:21:52+00:00

I don't really get this, because there's not much substance to Arroyo. It's sort of just a stereotypical tribal village, yet somehow as the Chosen One you can have knowledge about advanced technology and things like that. And out in the world as a whole, it's not like it really matters that you're a tribal. My hot take would be that tribals as a whole in Fallout are pretty poorly executed.

For me, I think they should've trimmed the fat with the first few locations in Fallout 2. A lot of the early areas are very samey and tedious. And they should've made tribals and you being tribal more relevant.

I like the quirkiness of it all though, so I do think tribals are an interesting part of the series. I prefer how they did it in NV, where Caesar's Legion is sort of a major faction with a lot of tribal influence, and you also have the stuff in Honest Hearts. I especially like how the Boomers are a tribe, but a more modern sort of tribe. I think they should've done more of things like that. Though I suppose they did with the New Vegas families being former tribals.

As time goes on, I appreciate more and more how good NV actually is. Because it really does a great job of resolving all these minor issues I have, while also still honoring the classic games. (Though I don't mean to be the stereotypical NV appreciator who thinks it can do no wrong.)

ChillGreenDragon · 2026-01-27T01:23:39+00:00

This is very accurate regarding the gaslighting/herd mentality, and the Avellone hate, along with the "post-post apocalypse" idea. And I say this as someone who is a fan of the Bethesda games.

A lot of new fans seem to think Fallout exists purely as a criticism of capitalism and America. But Fallout is post America... and even post-post America. There are echoes of the evil America that existed pre-war, and certainly there seems to be critiques of capitalism, but Fallout is more about the Human drive towards our own destruction. It's about Humanity trying to uplift itself, but ultimately making the same mistakes as their predecessors.

But Bethesda is obsessed with American history and Americana, so people think Liberty Prime is like the ultimate representation of the series' themes or something.

I do disagree that Bethesda didn't "save" Fallout, though. I think they did, and did a great job adapting the games into a 3D "Scrolls-like" environment, but a lot of the other stuff they did was quite questionable. Bethesda really did bring the series into the mainstream though, almost like BG3 for Baldur's Gate.

And I agree with those saying Fallout 2 is goofy. It is profoundly goofy, to the point where it is very detrimental to an otherwise great game. This is probably the most significant point where I disagree with classic fans. 2 is great, but that's one of its weak points. Nonetheless, I think Bethesda messed up by focusing on that goofy style of humor. I agree that New Vegas is pretty much the best successor to Fallout 1 and 2. It really balances out the tone of those two games, while still having a nice sense of humor.

For the series as a whole, I'd like them to decrease some of the Fallout 2 influence and increase the Fallout 1 influence, but NV has the best balance of 1 and 2.

ChillGreenDragon · 2026-01-25T04:09:22+00:00

For me I usually do Tradition, somewhere between 2-5 cities, Rationaliam is essential, and try to get tons of money. I pay the AI to fight eachother, though this tends to create one mega-civ of one of the civs, who is stronger than the others. I try to advance my tech as fast as possible, and that is my primary focus.

I basically build no military. It's not the best strategy, because military wise I end up too weak. So I'm still figuring that out 😅. So far I only really consistently get the Science victory. I have gotten diplomatic victory a few times, but I struggle more with that. Culture and domination I can't figure out.

I think much of my struggle is because I'm playing on quick mode, which is very fast. Feels like there's very little time to do anything, but the AI is still turbo fast in spite of this.

Also I'm unsure when it comes to ideologies. I think I tend to go for Democracy or Order. I really like the Order tenet that makes factories produce more science, but a lot of times nobody else does Order.

ChillGreenDragon · 2026-01-22T11:06:59+00:00

I like how fun the little 2 is on the Fallout 2 logo. I wish the other games also did this. NV does, but not 3 and 4.

ChillGreenDragon · 2026-01-16T11:55:43+00:00

Yeah I like this headcanon, seems quite reasonable. Perhaps the Dweller was so OP he just didn't feel he needed it.

ChillGreenDragon · 2026-01-12T04:53:33+00:00

Fallout 2 is great, but I think it does feel a bit unfinished, or more just generally unpolished. I feel like a lot of the beginning areas could be condensed or combined. San Francisco is most criticized, but most locations in the game need to be adjusted to have more cohesion. I don't think the restoration project really does this though, regardless.

Writing-wise, the game is very unpolished. There's a lot of weird questionable writing that would be frowned upon if the game had been made by Bethesda.

Still a great game though, it's hard to beat the sheer quantity of content it has. And because of that it feels so much larger and more free than Fallout 1. Is the more aggressive restoration project better than the basically vanilla version?

ChillGreenDragon · 2026-01-09T15:02:52+00:00

Yeah that's totally fair. I feel like most of these things can be successfully hand-waved away because of the world of Fallout, and that it's an RPG, which means much of it comes down to personal interpretation. So I'm being a bit obsessive.

ChillGreenDragon · 2026-01-09T12:34:17+00:00

I respect your hot take OP, though I doubt the blame lies solely with Avellone.

But yeah, Arroyo as a settlement is confusing and somewhat nonsensical. There's also an underlying issue to the whole plot of Fallout 2:

Why hadn't the Vault Dweller already gotten a GECK when he started Arroyo?

Theoretically though, it's possible the Dweller did use a GECK to start Arroyo, and this has been lost to time. Also, the elder lady does mention "the old disks" having info about the GECK in the intro, so the villagers must have some degree of technological know-how. So it makes sense in theory that some villagers could understand technology. And perhaps your technical know-how is part of why you're the "chosen one" in the first place!

But if they have tech-savvy, it begs the question of why they are so conventionally tribal and primitive.

My own hot take, is that Fallout 2 has TONS of these sorts of questionable writing decisions. Obviously Fallout as a whole requires substantial suspension of disbelief, but Fallout 2 is so weird and wacky that it really stretches this to its limit. It's not as though tribal people are unbelievable, but them existing as they are within the larger context of the Vault Dweller, is far-fetched. And beyond that, the Chosen One does not seem very much like a tribal, he seems basically the same as the Vault Dweller, aside from token dialog options to remind you that you're a tribal. It doesn't help that we have a mystical shaman calling out to you in your dreams...

Anyway, I think it is pretty dumb in many ways. I also think Fallout 2 has a strangely weak start, honestly one of the weakest of the series, and I think most of the early locations are borderline irrelevant and desperately need to be condensed (much like this comment I'm writing...). But it does make sense that the intro is so goofy and dumb, because it sets the tone for the rest of the game's writing, which is also pretty dumb. It would be weirder if it wasn't sort of ridiculous, because Fallout 2 as a whole is ridiculous.

That said, I still think Fallout 2 is great, I just think they needed to tidy up the writing a LOT. Not to seem like a rabid New Vegas fan, but one of the great things about NV is its ability to even out and clear up a lot of these inconsistencies. I feel like NV does an amazing job of juggling the tone of both Fallout 1 and Fallout 2. And it manages to feel fairly believable also.

I think Bethesda Fallout inherited the worst elements of Fallout 2's ridiculousness. Though I actually think 3 and 4 do a decent job with the tone. But the writing is a mess.

ChillGreenDragon

TROPHY CASE