PLAYING FALLOUT

Learn how to navigate Fallout's interface, move your character, examine surroundings, talk to NPCs, use items and skills, and manage combat effectively with this comprehensive guide.

This section provides a concise breakdown of the various actions you can perform in Fallout, along with an explanation of the different difficulty levels.

Difficulty Levels:

• Game Difficulty: Easy grants a 20% bonus to non-combat skills. Hard imposes a 10% penalty to non-combat skills.
• Combat Difficulty: Wimpy increases your accuracy and penalizes enemies. Rough penalizes you, buffs enemies, and increases critical hits.

Interface and Controls:

• Cursor Icons: The hex-shaped cursor indicates movement. The arrow cursor is used for most other functions.
• Inventory ('INV'): Access your inventory.
• Secondary Skills: The red button beside 'Skilldex' activates secondary skills.
• Main Menu: The button below 'INV' opens the main menu.
• Item Slots: The red button above 'INV' changes your active item slots.

Movement:

• When the cursor is hex-shaped, you can move. Hold Shift to run. Right-click to change the cursor.
• To access the world map, go to the red grid in an area. To enter other areas of a city or building, use the green grid or stairs/elevators.

Interacting with the World:

• Examining Surroundings: Right-click to change the cursor to an arrow. Hover over an object and hold the left mouse button, then select the binoculars to examine.
• Talking to Critters: Ensure the arrow cursor is active, then click on the character you wish to speak with.
• Using Items on Objects: With the standard cursor, hover over the object, click on the wallet icon, select the item from your inventory, and then click the object again. Alternatively, place the item in an item slot, click it, and use the crosshair to target the object.
• Using Skills: Click the 'Skilldex' button, choose your skill, and use the crosshair to target. Some skills, like Sneak, do not require a target and will display a message in the lower-left. Another method is to hold the left mouse button on your character, click their face, and select the skill.
• Activating Items (Flares, Sensors, etc.): Place the item in an item slot and click it, or access your inventory, hold the left mouse button on the item, and select the open hand icon. Flares and dynamite should be activated then dropped.

Combat and Stealth:

• Changing Weapon Modes: Right-click the weapon in your active slot to cycle through modes (e.g., single, aimed, reload).
• Entering Combat Mode: Press 'A' to enter combat mode, allowing movement at the cost of action points.
• Skill Item Usage: Lockpicks, electronic lockpicks, first-aid kits, and the doctor's bag increase their respective skills by 25%.
• Stealing: It's best to steal while sneaking, from behind targets, and without concern for item size.
• Information Display: Pay attention to the bottom-left screen for important game information.
• Examining Dead Bodies: Arrows appear beneath the body picture in the inventory screen if a body is in a pile. Setting violence to low can make searching easier.