Fallout 3 doesn't end?

Okay; I've really gotten into Fallout 3, to the point where I dl'd the Broken Steel DLC (except Steam wouldn't let me dl it 'cuz I had the retail version & didn't get it thru them so I had to deal with Windows Live which still sucks imo). Started FO3 all over again, played thru Broken Steel, and now I'm sitting here scratching my head because there doesn't seem to be a proper ending for Broken Steel. I suppose I could go back and do some of the side quests, but I'm a little confused about the no-ending thing.

Please keep in mind that I'm really new to DLCs. Aren't the DLCs supposed to have their own endings? And if I dl another DLC for FO3, will I have to restart FO3 yet again just to play the new DLC?

The vanilla game ended when you completed the final main quest. One of the main features of Broken Steel is that it continues the game after that and thus there is no ending.

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Originally Posted by Dia

Okay; I've really gotten into Fallout 3, to the point where I dl'd the Broken Steel DLC (except Steam wouldn't let me dl it 'cuz I had the retail version & didn't get it thru them so I had to deal with Windows Live which still sucks imo). Started FO3 all over again, played thru Broken Steel, and now I'm sitting here scratching my head because there doesn't seem to be a proper ending for Broken Steel. I suppose I could go back and do some of the side quests, but I'm a little confused about the no-ending thing.

Please keep in mind that I'm really new to DLCs. Aren't the DLCs supposed to have their own endings? And if I dl another DLC for FO3, will I have to restart FO3 yet again just to play the new DLC?

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Possible spoiler, but if I recall right, Broken Steel "ends" with you

spoiler:

blowing up an Enclave base/airfield and the Brotherhood of Steel picking you up in a VTOL.

One of the main complaints with FO3 back in the day was that it didn't let people play after the ending, so one of Broken Steel's main selling points was that it would let you roam around the FO3 world and do what you wanted after the "end." So in that sense there isn't really an end to gameplay if you have that DLC installed, but the BoS/Enclave/water purifier thread of the story is supposed to conclude in Broken Steel.

I think if you install other DLC packs you don't have to start fresh. You'll be notified via radio messages or some other means of where to go to access the new content once DLC has been installed. The Pitt can be accessed, for example, by switching to the radio station (using your PipBoy) so you can listen to Werner's distress signal.

Skip Mothership Zeta. The other DLC are top-notch.

Thanks for the advice guys. I just thought that maybe my Broken Steel DLC was borked or I was doin' it wrong. Usually after I've finished a game (and there are no DLCs available for it) I'll just uninstall to make room for the next one, but I enjoyed FO3 so much that I'm definitely keeping it on the backburner for future fun. The completion of Broken Steel was, in fact, very timely, since Skyrim arrives today and that will eclipse any other game for me for awhile.

Thanks again.

:thumb:

Yeah, Mothership Zeta was the only DLC I never touched even though I bought the GOTY edition.

Also be advised that you get some seriously powerful items at the conclusion of Op: Anchorage, including a practically invulnerable suit of powered armor. Naturally I had to play that one first so I could go through the rest of the DLC with it, but some people felt that the superpowered stuff removes some of the challenge.

There's a few mods that nerf the Op Anchorage equipment- that power armor was actually bugged, for example.

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Originally Posted by Slasher

Yeah, Mothership Zeta was the only DLC I never touched even though I bought the GOTY edition.

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*Medium-bump*

Mothership Zeta is worth slogging through just for the equipment you can loot from it. Literal piles of shooty gun rays, and the insanely useful "alien epoxy", which can instantly repair any equipped weapon.

The DLC Packages are the best solution to move forward. You don't have to start all over again. In fact the dlc package is a perfect way to cross the steel door and finish FO3