The Victory Rifle, one of the two unique sniper rifles available in the game, adds a twist that makes it much more useful against big monsters – like Super Mutant Masters. Whenever you score a critical hit with the weapon, it knocks the target down for a couple of seconds.

Larger mobs typically have too many hit points for you to kill with one sneak attack critical, so this gives you time to make a couple of head shots before they get a bead on you and start shooting.

So where is it? Locked up nice and tight in an abandoned shack. Hope you’ve been practicing your lockpicking.

Illustrated Walkthrough

First, here’s a quick walkthrough via screenshots to guide you to the Victory Rifle.

Detailed Instructions

First, head to Rockbreaker’s Last Gas. It’s kind of in the middle of nowhere – about three to four squares due west of Arefu.

While standing at the gas station, turn and look westward. There’s a pretty big mountain in view, and at the top of the mountain you should be able to see an Abandoned Shack. That’s where you’re headed.

If you head around to the left (the south side of the mountain), you should be able to find a path up. Once you’re at the top, enter the Abandoned Shack.

Inside, you’ll see a number of locked containers straight ahead – an ammo box, a safe, and a locker. The locker has a Very Hard lock (requires 100 lockpicking) and will contain you Victory Rifle. You have been practicing that lockpicking, right?

After you open the locker and grab the rifle, be sure to open up the ammo box. There is probably some .308 ammunition inside to test out your new weapon.

But I Don’t Have 100 Lockpicking…

Shame on you.

I quickly decided that Lockpicking and Science were two of the most important skills in the game. Repair probably comes in at a close third.

But I suppose you’re entitled to skill up the way you want. There are a variety of bugs that will allow you to snag the Victory Rifle without opening the locker.

The simplest method is to bring Dogmeat along. When you talk to Dogmeat you can ask him to find a weapon. In the Abandoned Shack, he’ll sniff around the locker and yank out the Victory Rifle for you.

If you try and tell me that you don’t have Dogmeat with you… well then I can’t help you.

Now all you have to do is find something to snipe. Enjoy!

What’s better than the Chinese Assault Rifle? The Xuanlong Assault Rifle – the unique, named version of the Chinese Assault Rifle in Fallout 3.

This rifle can be a bit tough to obtain if you don’t know what you’re doing. In order to get it, you must complete a sidequest that contains a puzzle. To make matters worse, one mistake in the puzzle and you’ll have lost your chance to get the item for good.

To obtain the Xuanlong Assault Rifle, you’ll need to go to the Museum of Technology in the downtown area. Inside, you can complete a puzzle through a series of computer terminals. If you successfully complete the puzzle, you’ll be told to meet up at the Jury Street Metro Station – and you’ll find Prime’s dead body there with the Rifle.

Important Note: You can’t take a shortcut and just go to the Jury Street Metro Station. If you haven’t completed the side quest, Prime’s body (and the rifle) won’t be there.

Quick Walkthrough – Finding the Xuanlong Assault Rifle

Here’s the down and dirty version of the walkthrough.

Find your way to the Museum of Technology in the downtown area. In the first room, you’ll see a computer terminal with an option titled “#000.” Use it and you’ll learn that a guy, Prime, left some clues around the Museum about a stash of items.

There are three terminals scattered around the Museum that you need to find. The first is that one that you used to get the clue. Each one will have an option with a # (#001, #002, or #003) and you need to respond with the correct number to complete the puzzle.

The trick is that your response must be a prime number. You remember what those are, right? Think back to math class.

The other tough part is finding the three terminals – because there are a lot of terminals in the building. If you’re too lazy to find them yourself, check out the detailed walkthrough and the screenshots below.

Once you find the three computer terminals and enter the right responses, you’ll be told where a stash of items is inside the museum. More importantly, Prime will tell you to meet him at the Jury Street Metro Station (west of Vault 101) – and his dead body will be there with the Xuanlong Assault Rifle.

Important Note: If you try to solve the puzzle on  your own, be sure to save it before you start. If you mess up any of the responses, you’ll fail the quest and you’ll never be able to get the Xuanlong Assault Rifle.

Detailed Walkthrough – Finding the Xuanlong Assault Rifle

I managed to solve this quest on my first run through the game, but it involved a lot of wandering around aimlessly and a lot of re-loading when I got wrong answers. If you want to avoid that, here’s is a very detailed guide to completing the side quest. At the end of this page, you’ll also find a lot of screenshots that document exactly how to go through the museum and solve the puzzle.

First, head to the Museum of Technology. It’s in the Mall in the Downtown area,  about four squares from the bottom of the map and two squares from the right.

When you enter the museum, there is a computer terminal against the far wall. First, kill the Super Mutants in the room, and then interact with the computer.

Use the last option, “#000.” Prime tells you that he has left clues throughout the museum to help you find a stash of goods inside the museum.

The same computer terminal will now have an option, “#001.” Use it. You should see four numbers that you can pick from. You want to pick the prime number. For this terminal, choose #019. The terminal should now say “#001 Confirmed.”

Next, go upstairs. Go through the Vault Tour, and at the other side you should find a double door that leads into the West Wing of the museum (another local zone).

As soon as you enter the West Wing, ahead and to your left are two computer terminals against the wall. Interact with the terminal on the right and select the option titled “#002.” Again, you want to respond with the prime number (this time #053), and again you’ll see “#002″ confirmed.

In the next room, you should see a giant rocket. Follow the stairs all the way to the ground floor, and on the wall opposite the stairs you’ll see another computer terminal. This one should have the option titled “#003″ and you should respond “#113.”

After you respond correctly, you’ll see a new option labeled “Get Passcode.” Choose that, and you’ll get a message from Prime telling you where to go. You can now go find the secret stash of loot inside the museum, but more importantly you can go to the Jury Street Metro Station and pick up your Assault Rifle!

Backtrack out of the Museum of Technology, and head to the Metro Station. If you haven’t discovered it yet, go to Vault 101 and head due west. There should be a marker on your map from completing the quest (Jiggs’ Loot) in the museum. It’s about two squares to the west of Vault 101.

Outside the Metro Station is a diner. Walk inside, and you should find Prime’s body on a table behind the counter. Walk up, loot away, and enjoy your Xuanlong Assault Rifle!

It’s a huge upgrade over the regular Chinese Assault Rifle, with a larger ammo capacity and higher damage. Definitely a great gun to hold onto if you like Small Guns.

Illustrated Walkthrough – Finding the Xuanlong Assault Rifle

In case you’re having trouble finding some of the locations mentioned above, here’s a completely illustrated version of the walkthrough.

Enjoy the weapon!

Then the Reservist’s Rifle is the gun for you. It’s a unique special weapon version of the Sniper Rifle available in Fallout 3. You can loot it off of the Drifter hanging out in the Dickerson Tabernackle Chapel.

Here’s a quick walkthrough to help you obtain this awesome weapon.

Visual Walkthrough – Screenshots

First, here’s a quick step-by-step walkthrough by way of screenshots.

Commentary and Tips

Go to Dickerson Tabernacle Chapel. First, you’ll need to go to the Chapel. It’s in the Northwest quadrant of the map – about four clicks from the north and four clicks from the west.

Approach in sneak mode. Remember that the Drifter is a sniper. You’ll want to approach in sneak mode so that you can kill him before he starts taking pot shots at you. If you sneak up from the East, you’ll be able to sit in the open wall of the church and shoot at him.

Kill the Drifter! The Drifter will be on a walkway on the second floor of the church. When you kill him, his body should drop to ground level so that you can loot it. Sometimes it bugs out and gets stuck though – so reload and try again.

If he gets stuck on top of the walkway, you can also try shooting his dead body. When it explodes, one of the body parts should fall to the ground. You only need to interact with one part of the body to loot it.

Grab the Reservist’s Rifle and start sniping. Although the Sniper Rifle isn’t my favorite weapon in the game, it can be great situationally. If you’re engaging humanoids outside (like at Evergreen Mills), you can quietly kill them from long range without pissing anybody off.

Just use it sparingly, because there’s relatively little ammo for it in the Wasteland (compared with, say, an Assault Rifle or a Shotgun).

If you need some general help, check out the full Tranquility Lane walkthrough. Otherwise, you might find the following list of frequently asked questions helpful.

If all else fails, leave a question in the comment section and I’ll try to help you out!

1. How do I get to Vault 112?
2. How do I get out of Tranquility Lane?
3. Where did all my stuff go?!?
4. Where’s my dad, James?
5. Do I have to be evil in Vault 112?
6. How do I access the failsafe terminal that Old Lady Dithers keeps babbling about?
7. How can I kill Mabel Henderson with her oven?
8. Why do I gain karma from killing everyone?
9. Do my karmic choices in Tranquility Lane effect later parts of the game?

How Do I Get to Vault 112?

Vault 112 is located underneath Smith Casey’s Garage. The Garage is in the Southwest quadrant of the map, near Girdershade and Evergreen Mills. You’ll need to go downstairs into the basement, and you’ll find the entrance to the Vault.

Read part of the walkthrough for more detailed instructions on how to find Vault 112.

Back to the list of FAQs.

How Do I Get Out of Tranquility Lane?

You can’t! You’re stuck forever! Muahahaha!

Just kidding. Betty controls the town, and you’ll have to convince her to let you out. The simple way to do this is to do exactly what Betty asks you to do. Old Lady Dithers will give you an alternative suggestion, and if you figure out the puzzle you can force Betty to allow you to leave.

Ultimately, Betty will open a door for you to walk through – taking you back to the real world of the Capital Wasteland.

Back to the list of FAQs.

Where Did All my Stuff Go?!?

It’s only gone temporarily. While you’re inside the Tranquility Lane simulation, you won’t have access to any of your inventory items – or to your Pipboy. Try to bring up the Pipboy and you’ll just see a silly wrist-watch.

As soon as you escape Tranquility Lane, all of your inventory items will be restored to you. However, you’ll have to re-equip your armor and reset the hot keys for your weapons.

Back to the list of FAQs.

Where’s My Dad, James?

He’s hidden in the simulation. Betty, Dr. Braun, turned him the dog Doc that hangs out on the playground. This confused me the first time through, because I thought the dog was Dogmeat!

Betty will eventually tell you that he tried to make James play the same games, but James refused. When you convince Dr. Braun to let you leave, he’ll also tell you that your father is the dog and that he’s free to go, too.

Back to the list of FAQs.

Do I Have to Be Evil in Vault 112?

Nope. There are two clear routes to escape Vault 112.

If you listen to Old Lady Dithers and figure out how to use the failsafe terminal, you’ll gain Karma points and Dr. Braun will be forced to let you James leave Tranquility Lane. You can read the relevant section of the walkthrough to learn how to use the failsafe terminal.

If you choose to play along with Betty, you’ll lose a lot of karma. You’ll eventually have to kill everyone (except for Timmy) and you’ll complete four quests that reward you with negative karma.

Back to the list of FAQs.

How do I Access the Failsafe Terminal that Old Lady Dithers Keeps Babbling About?

Go inside the abandoned house. Use the objects in the house in the following order: Radio, Pitcher, Garden Gnome, Pitcher, Cinderblock, Garden Gnome, Bottle.

If you completed the pattern correctly, the failsafe terminal will appear.

For a more detailed answer, read the relevant portion of the walkthrough on how to use the failsafe terminal.

Back to the list of FAQs.

How Can I Kill Mabel Henderson With Her Oven?

There are four different ways for you to kill Mabel Henderson. If you fiddle with the things in her house, it will seem pretty obvious that using the oven is one of them.

When you use the oven, you’ll have an option to tamper with the pilot light. I originally thought that if I left the house and waited, it would explode and kill Mabel Henderson. No such luck.

After tampering with the pilot light, you need to go talk with her and ask her to bake you a pie. You can then follow her downstairs and watch her die in a puff of flame.

Read the relevant section of the walkthrough for the other ways to kill Mabel Henderson.

Back to the list of FAQs.

Why Do I Gain Karma from Killing Everyone?

If you use the failsafe terminal, you’ll be able to activate the Chinese Invasion program. The flavor text in the failsafe manual explains that this will kill the residents of Vault 112 in real life, not just in the simulation.

It may seem a bit counter-intuitive to gain karma from slaughtering everyone, but the designers have decided that this is the humane thing to do to them. By killing them in real life, Braun can’t continue to resurrect them in new simulations and torture them. It also leaves Braun alone for eternity because he has no way to leave the simulation or kill himself.

Just one of those strange karmic decisions of Fallout 3.

Personally, I’d have preferred an option whereby I could leave the simulation (by following Betty’s orders) and then murder Braun in his Tranquility Lounger – leaving the residents of Vault 112 to control their own simulation. But unfortunately, that is not an option.

Back to the list of FAQs.

Do My Karmic Choices in Tranquility Lane Effect Later Parts of the Game?

Nope. Even though your father refused to play along with Braun and torture the residents of Vault 112, he apparently doesn’t care what you do.

When I completed Tranquility Lane the Evil way, I expected him to have some dialog about my decisions. No such luck. It seems that Tranquility Lane and your decisions there are entirely self contained – except for possibly changing your karma level.

This is one of the persistent problems in Fallout 3, IMO. Your karmic decisions have very little impact on the development of the story line. At the very least, it would be nice if there was some dialogue to resolve the fact that your father has just found out that you’re a world reknowned mass murderer.

Back to the list of FAQs.

Other Questions?

These are some of the most common questions that I’ve found around the internet and in search queries for this site. If you have another question, leave it in the comment section or drop me a line through the contact form.

I’ll be happy to help you out, and if I get enough extra questions I’ll create a second FAQ to summarize them.

If you’re stomach is a bit weak for that, maybe you should take the Good Karma way out and use the failsafe terminal.

If not, go to talk to Betty. She tells you to gather a weapon and mask from the abandoned house, don the disguise of the Pint Sized Slasher, and slash up the entire neighborhood.

This is the simplest of her tasks, but it might be the most time consuming as you chase everyone down.

How to Kill the Residents of Tranquility Lane – Illustrated Walkthrough

As usual, here’s a quick illustrated walkthrough. Then we’ll hash it out in words.

How to Kill the Residents of Tranquility Lane – Detailed Walkthrough

This one should be pretty simple.

As per Betty’s instructions, go to the Abandoned House. It’s to the north of the playground area, next to Old Lady Dithers’ house.

To the right of the house, you’ll find a dog house. When you interact with the dog house, you’ll loot a crazy looking mask and a big knife. You’ll automatically equip these items and become… the Pint Sized Slasher!

At this point, you can just run amok and kill everyone. I didn’t have a lot of luck hiding and sneaking up on people. Once they get a look at you, they run in terror.

One suggestion would be to not try and chase people down outside. They run just as fast as you do, and you have no ranged attacks. You might run the entire length of the map before you catch up with them.

Once a person sees you, they tend to run for their house. If you are between them and the house, they’ll take a wide circle around the map to their home. Once inside, they’ll run around inside - a much easier place to catch and kill them.

So, scare them off, let them run home, and walk inside and slash away. Once everyone is dead, go talk to Betty.

Dr. Braun won’t give you much information, like he does when you take the Good Karma route (the failsafe terminal). But he will open the magical doorway back to the real world.

After going through the door, you should find yourself in Vault 112 and your father, James, will get out of a pod near you. You can talk to him to get caught up on all the latest gossip, and then the two of you should travel back to Rivet City.

Go back to the Table of Contents for the Chapter 6 (“Tranquility Lane”) Walkthrough.

You’re done with Chapter 6! Head to Chapter 7. Maybe I’ll work up a walkthrough for that next.

Betty asks you to come up with a creative way for Mabel Henderson to die. Physical beating won’t do, even with a rolling pin. So head to her house and try and figure out all the creative ways you can booby trap it!

There are four ways that I’ve discovered, and here they are in a detailed walkthrough.

How to Kill Mabel Henderson – Illustrated Walkthrough

First things first, here’s an illustrated walkthrough, complete with screenshots, of all the wonderful methods of murder. Then, we’ll explain it in more detail.

How to Kill Mabel Henderson – Detailed Walkthrough

And now, the wordy version.

First, find the Henderson residence. Mabel Henderson lives in the house on the southeastern point of the circle.

Betty wanted you to be creative, and there are plenty of creative ways to kill Mabel Henderson. There are four different methods that I could figure out.

When you first enter the house, you can tamper with the chandelier. It’s in the living room, just before the hallway to the kitchen.

Interact with the chandelier and you’ll be given an option to rig it so that it falls on someone. Sit on the couch and wait for a bit. Eventually Mabel Henderson will walk by and you can watch as the chandelier falls on her head.

If you go up the stairs, you’ll be able to place a rollerskate at the edge of the landing. Interact with the roller-skate and you’ll push it right up to the edge.

If you wait for a little bit, you’ll be able to see Mabel Henderson walk across the landing and tumble down the stairs.

For something with a little more pizazz, tamper with Mrs. Henderson’s pilot light. Walk into her kitchen and interact with the oven. You’ll have an option to tamper with the pilot light, and you’ll smell gas gathering in the area. 

Go find Mrs. Henderson and now you can ask her to make you a pie. Follow her as she heads into the kitchen. When she goes to light the oven, the gas will explode, setting her on fire. Don’t worry, the explosion won’t hurt you. I safely sat and watched from the kitchen table.

Finally, you can use the security system (Mr. Handy). In the kitchen, you’ll find a computer terminal. The second option allows you to initiate the security protocol. The third option allows you to disable security screening (remove targeting information). Select both options, and Mr. Handy should turn hostile.

Be careful that Mr. Handy doesn’t become hostile towards you. If he does, you can run back to the terminal and turn the program off. However, you’ll have to wait inside the house until Mr. Handy kills Mrs. Henderson. The security protocol locks the front door.

This one is enjoyable, but it can be a bit annoying. Mabel Henderson runs away a lot, and it can take a while for Mr. Handy to finally kill her with the flamethrower.

Once again, the choice is yours. No noticeable rewards for picking one method of murder over another.

Go back to the Table of Contents for the Chapter 6 (“Tranquility Lane”) Walkthrough.

Continue to the next step: How to Kill the Residents and Leave Tranquility Lane.

But this is so much more fun. After making Timmy Neusbaum cry, Betty will give you another task: make the Rockwells get a divorce.

There is, again, an easy way out. There are also some more creative and difficult to figure out methods. Take your pick of the following three options.

How to Make the Rockwells Get Divorced – Illustrated Walkthrough

First things first, here’s a quick illustrated walkthrough showing you your options. Stay tuned for a detailed written explanation.

How to Make the Rockwells Get Divorced – Detailed Walkthrough

Now for those of you who prefer words to pictures…

First, find the Rockwell’s residence. It’s the house that looks distinctively like all of the other houses in the neighborhood. Head to the southwestern point of the circle.

For this dirty trick, you have three options. One straightforward, two a bit more roundabout.

The simplest method is a speech test, just like with Timmy Neusbaum. When you first speak to Mrs. Rockwell, you can convince her that her husband is cheating on her with Ms. Simpson. If you succeed (I had a ~70% chance), she gets into a fight with her husband and storms out.

The brutal method is to kill Ms. Simpson. If you walk upstairs into Mrs. Rockwell’s bedroom, you can read her diary. She apparently thinks Ms. Simpson is messing around with her husband, and she fantasizes about killing her.

Head down to the kitchen and you’ll find a rolling pin. This is one of the few (only?) weapons that you can pick up in Tranquility Lane. You’ll automatically equip it.

Head next door and find Ms. Simpson. Beat her with the rolling pin – two or three good whacks should bring her down. Then, walk back to the Rockwell residence. When you talk to Mr. Rockwell, you can tell him that Mrs. Rockwell has gone insane and murdered Ms. Simpson. If you stick around, you’ll get to hear their argument.

The sneaky method is to plant sexy underwear in Mr. Rockwell’s basement. Go to Ms. Simpson’s house (right nextdoor) and walk upstairs. On the bed, you’ll find some Lacy Underwear. Pick it up.

Head back to the Rockwell residence. In the hallway to the kitchen, you’ll see a basement door. Go downstairs and in the corner you’ll find a desk that you can interact with. Activating the desk will place the lacy underwear on top of it.

Go back upstairs and find Mrs. Rockwell. You can now tell her to follow you into the basement. When she finds the lacy underwear, you can take your pick about what to tell her. Either one will create an argument and spark the divorce. I chose to tell her that her husband was a cross-dresser.

Take your pick with the methods. Like with Timmy Neusbaum, you don’t gain anything for being sneaky – just a little enjoyment. You might lose a little extra karma if you choose the murder route, if that matters to you. Oddly enough, you don’t lose any karma for stealing the lacy underwear.

Go back to the Table of Contents for the Chapter 6 (“Tranquility Lane”) Walkthrough.

Or head to the next step: How to Creatively Kill Mabel Henderson.

At the start of Chapter 6, you find yourself stuck in a simulation program – Tranquility Lane. You need to find a way out and figure out how to save your dad from the same hellacious fate.

You could do this the Good Karma way – mercifully releasing everyone from their fate at Tranquility Lane – or you could play along with Betty’s game. It’s not for the faint of heart, but it’s certainly more entertaining. Assuming you’re a little bit Evil.

When you arrive in Tranquility Lane, the neighbors will tell you to talk to Betty – a girl in the playground. If you play her little games to her satisfaction, she’ll eventually reveal her identity as Dr. Braun and release you and your father (James) back to the real world.

So let’s start playing games! First task? Make Timmy Neusbaum Cry.

How to Make Timmy Cry: Illustrated Walkthrough

First off, here’s an illustrated walkthrough – by way of screenshots – of what to do. You need to make Timmy Neusbam cry, and there are four different ways you can go about it.

How to Make Timmy Cry: The Detailed Explanation

Now for the detailed, text-heavy version of the walkthrough.

First, find Timmy Neusbaum. He’s standing at the lemonade stand outside his house, on the western/northwestern part of the circle.

There are four different ways you can go about making him cry.

The simplest way? Punch him in the face. It might take a couple punches, but he’ll start crying pretty quickly. Brutal but effective.

Or, if your speech skills are up to it, you can use that to your advantage. One of the dialog choices allows you to convince Timmy that his parents are getting a divorce.

Why, he asks? Because of him. Apparently he has a problem with wetting the bed.

Now for the more creative methods. Head into the Neusbaum household and walk into the kitchen. On the kitchen table, you’ll see a “Military School Brochure.” 

Take the brochure outside and talk to Timmy. You should see a new dialog option in which you tell him he’s being shipped out to military school. He won’t believe you at first, but offer to show him the brochure and he’ll start bawling like a baby.

The final, brutal method is to kill Timmy’s parents. If you go in the house, you should find Mrs. Neusbaum. Beat her with your bare hands. It’ll take a few good whacks, but she won’t hurt you back.

Chances are Timmy will run inside and find the body, immediately breaking into tears. If not, hunt down the father too and then go talk to Timmy.

Although some methods are far more clever than others, there’s no real reward for picking one over the other. Your immediate dialog with Betty will be slightly different, but you won’t gain any extra information and you’ll still move on to the next part of the quest chain.

Go back to the Table of Contents for the Chapter 6 (Tranquility Lane) Walkthrough.

Or continue to the next step: How to Make Mr. and Mrs. Rockwell Get Divorced. [Note: Scheduled to be published 01/05/2008]

At the start of Chapter 6, you find yourself stuck in a simulation program – Tranquility Lane. You need to find a way out and figure out how to save your dad from the same hellacious fate.

You could go the Evil Way and do what Betty asks – which ends with you murdering everyone – or be a good little angel and end the simulation for good. Old Lady Dithers clues you in to a failsafe terminal in the simulation, and by accessing it you can end Dr. Braun’s evil experiment.

Ultimately, he’ll answer all of your questions and let you and your father return to Vault 112.

Illustrated Walkthrough

First things first. Here’s a quick walkthrough, by way of screenshots, on how to access the failsafe terminal and escape Tranquility Lane.

Details, In Writing, For You Readers

For those of you that prefer text to pictures, here’s a more detailed walk through.

First, find Old Lady Dithers and speak with her. She might be walking around town, or you can find her in the Dithers residence (northeast corner of the circle).

She’ll fill you in one of the grittier details about Tranquility Lane and tell you that there is a Failsafe Terminal inside the Abandoned House. This is your Good Karma ticket out of here.

Second, enter the Abandoned House. It’s at the northern point of the circle. Inside, you’ll find a collection of items. Clicking each item produces a tone and creating the proper song will make the failsafe appear.

If you want to succeed through trial and error, go listen to Betty and pay attention to the background music. Try to repeat the melody by clicking on the objects in the house.

As you attempt to hit the notes in the right order, the game will play the correct tone after a series of incorrect tones. So keep clicking away, and make a note of the tones that the game plays back.

Or, cheat a bit and click them in the following order:

1. Radio
2. Glass Pitcher
3. Garden Gnome
4. Glass Pitcher
5. Cinderblock
6. Garden Gnome
7. Glass Bottle

This is one of the more obscure puzzles in the game, so don’t feel bad if you had to cheat a bit. I did the first time through.

Third, activate the failsafe terminal and read through the plot information. You’ll find out lots of stuff about Braun and his experiments.

When you’re done, read the documentation about the Chinese Invasion program and then activate it. This will summon a bunch of Chinese soldiers to murder everyone – for real – and leave Braun alone in his simulation for eternity.

Fourth, go to the playground and speak to Betty. Braun will reveal his true identity and answer any questions that you have. He’ll be a bit put off, since you damned him to an eternity of loneliness, but whatever. He had it coming.

He’ll eventually fill you in on the fact that your dad is the dog, and you can leave by using the door that appeared.

Fifth, head through the door. Back to reality! Now you’re back in Vault 112.

Your father, James, will get out of a nearby tranquility lounger. Speak to him for a bunch of plot development. He’ll eventually ask you to head with him to Rivet City, where you begin… Chapter 7!

Go back to the Table of Contents for the Chapter 6 (“Tranquility Lane”) Walkthrough.

Or have a go at the Bad Karma option. It’s a bit more… entertaining. You can start by making Timmy Neusbaum cry.

Or if you’re bored of Tranquility Lane, move on to Chapter 7.

At the time, I only played World of Warcraft, so I didn’t see the need for an uber graphics set up. The integrated graphics chip wasn’t very good, so I went out and bought an add-on video card (GeForce 8600 GT). This was the only extra piece of hardware that I put into an otherwise budget value computer (~$700 + tax, with 19″ widescreen LCD monitor, keyboard, mouse, and printer).

Since ditching WoW, I spent a good deal of time playing Fallout 3. This is a bit more graphics intensive than World of Warcraft, so you might be thinking, “How is the graphics performance in Fallout 3 with a GeForce 8600 GT?”

The GeForce 8600 GT – A Few Notes

Here’s the lowdown on the GeForce 8600 GT.

I was looking for a relatively cheap video card with 512mb of RAM. When I did some research, I found mixed reviews of the GeForce. Some people complained it wasn’t good enough for cutting edge gaming (not my concern), but others reported that it did just fine for average gaming (i.e. WoW).

At the time, I picked one up at NewEgg for about $99.99. You can find them now a bit cheaper - XFX GeForce 8600 GT 512mb RAM is on sale at Amazon for about $70.

It has 512mb of RAM, like I wanted. I’ve never had problem with fan noise (some people complained about that). Nor has it ever over-heated on me, despite long sessions of playing WoW.

It’s served me quite well in the past few months.

Computer Specs

Next, here’s a quick rundown of the specs of the computer.

• Manufacturer: Gateway
• Processor: AMD Phenom 8400, Triple-Core, 2.1ghz
• Memory: 3.00 gb RAM

Not over the top by any means. However, my days of hardcore gaming are over, and I didn’t see the need to spend twice as much on a slightly better machine.

Graphics Performance in Fallout 3

So how does the GeForce 8600 GT perform in Fallout 3? Excellent.

When I first started playing, there were some problems with sudden freezing. I wasn’t sure if it was related to the graphics or the audio or just a bug in the game. I found a tip to update to the latest K-Lite audio and video codecs, and that seemed to clear up the issue.

Just running around, I tend to stay around 45-60 FPS. In combat, that can drop to 25 to 35. That might not sound insanely high, but it’s high enough that I don’t notice any slugishness.

The graphics definitely look nice – nothing more satisfying than a Raider getting obliterated by a blast from the Terrible Shotgun or watching a Super Mutant get goo-ified by a Plasma Rifle.

Despite playing for hours at a time, there have also been no issues with over-heating or fan noise. The built in fan seems to work fine at cooling the chip and keeping it running well.

I’ve got no complaints about the GeForce 8600 GT. I wouldn’t suggest that you get it if you’re trying to push the envelope of gaming graphics, but it’s done good by me. For Fallout 3, the GeForce 8600 GT should give you plenty of power.