Fallout 4

[mandru]

I dropped 20 cats (scattered about with a bowl for each) on the roof of Gunner's Plaza but the gunners don't take very good care of them.  In fact I've seen a gunner intentionally shooting at one of them that was blocking his way.  The cat survived/revived and the gunner didn't. 

So every time I come through that area now I pop up to the top of the plaza to resurrect any dead cats that may have turned up.  It's also an excellent excuse to wipe out any gunners that have respawned. 

[fragger]

Too late mandru, I got rid of Captain Underpants already by doing what Art suggested. But thanks to both of you guys, that's all very handy info to have

I found a use for that huge pointless structure that I built at Starlight. I turned it into a manufacturing centre. You know, just for the heck of it... Got four machines for ammo, explosives, heavy weapons and energy weapons.

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I built everything, hooked up the power, switched it on and everything hummed. Until I got on a terminal and nothing happened... The screen just showed "Initializing..." and nothing else.

I'd hooked up four terminals, one to each of the four machines, and they all did this. After much futzing around, and to cut a long story short, I finally found out why. If more than one machine is connected to the same power source, you only need one terminal to access all of them. More than one terminal online and the system apparently has a nervous breakdown. The terminal doesn't have to be cabled directly to a machine, just to any part of the power grid (though you can hook it up to a machine if you want to). You'll then see this:

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Any turrets or other controllable devices that are ultimately connected to the same generator will also show up on the same terminal, but you probably know this already.

Incidentally, each machine will keep producing whatever you specify until it runs out of the required materials for that product (you have to load the materials into the machine yourself via the standard "swap" interface - it doesn't automatically draw them from a Workbench). You can't cancel a run once it starts either, though I haven't tried cutting the power mid-run, so that might do something. The created items move along the conveyor belt and go into the collection hopper at the end of the belt. To get them, you interact with the hopper just as you do with any storage container. But you can also just pluck the goods straight off the conveyor belt as they move along.

The three basic components for each machine are: the machine itself, one or more conveyor belt sections, and the collection hopper (and a terminal on the same grid). These all snap together (conveyors only fit one way though, because the belts on them only move in one direction) and they all draw power from the machine itself, i.e. you only need to cable up the machine, then the other attached parts will inherit the power. You don't even need any conveyor belts or the collection hopper really, as the machines themselves have a small stretch of conveyor belt at the front, and whatever they make will come out on the belt and just fall off the end onto the ground. The hopper just prevents a pile of stuff from accumulating on the floor. You can also directly attach the collection hopper to the machine without any conveyor belts in between as the hopper too has its own short section of belt.

You don't have to pre-scrap junk before putting material into the machine, as the machine will automatically extract the required materials from any junk you dump into it. Any unused materials or components will stay in the machine, where you can pull them out later.

There are also "sorter" hoppers which have two outlet belts and sort stuff out in some fashion, but I haven't figured out how those w0#k as yet, and "vacuum hoppers" which somehow pull stuff out of the hoppers (for what purpose I don't  know). Then there are branching belts and conveyor elevators, so you could set up quite a complicated factory if you were so inclined.

There are ten different machine types that each make a particular category of item, including one that makes 11 different junk items. Why you would want to make junk items I don't know – you usually scrap junk items to get the materials, not use materials to make junk. The other types are Armor, Weapons (basic), Clothing, Energy Weapons, Heavy Weapons, Ammunition, Explosives, Pyrotechnics and Food. Machines won't make everything, though. For instance, the Ammunition Plant won't make ammo for energy weapons, nor things like Missiles or Mini Nukes, only bullets and shells. Ditto Energy Weapons – you can make laser and plasma weapons, but not things like Tesla rifles or Gamma guns.

Is there any point to it all? Not particularly. But it's kind of fun to play around with. For me it is, anyway. Bearing in mind that I'm not generally using cheats and thus earning my caps the hard way, one or two of them might come in handy for making stuff I can sell. The only cheating I do is for extra steel and concrete to indulge my building kink – and even then I don't go overboard.

[Art Blade]

wow.

somewhere deep down in this topic is a vid of a guy who explains those machines in detail, I recall it was lengthy, like 45 minutes. You might find useful information there

[fragger]

Okay, I'll look for it

Man, I just completed the "Restoring Order" quest and had to take on a small army of robots under the command of Isabel "The Mechanist" Cruz at the end (this quest is part of the Automatron add-on). Blimey, that's the toughest fight I've been in yet in FO4 I rarely use power armour, but something told me I might need it for this op, so for once I listened to my little voice and donned some (a T-45 suit, all pieces upgraded to the "F" model). Boy, did I need it... I'm not playing in god mode, so I would have been in deep caca with ordinary combat armour. That was a heavy scrap.

I spared Isabel's life at the end and made her realise the enormity of what she'd set in motion, and in return she gave me her Mechanist armour.

[spoiler text=Just one screenie this time! ]
I look like an evil robot from a 1950s pulp magazine cover This was apparently was the intention. According to the wiki, Isabel was inspired by comic book drawings and "The Mechanist" radio show character.

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[/spoiler]
Along the way I scored an Exterminator's Gauss Rifle from a dead Legendary Ghoul, which does 50% extra damage against bugs and Mirelurks on top of its already hefty hitting power. Cool. Now all I have to do is go and hunt down rogue robots at large in the Commonwealth. This is a "radiant" quest, so the robots could be lurking at any one of a number of different locations.

The Ultralight Heavy Combat Armor chest piece I have offers better protection for the torso and the Nanofiliment Synth Helmet is better for the head, but the Mechanist suit gives better limb protection. Unfortunately, you can't mix and match with the Mechanist suit - it's all one piece except for the helmet. So as delightfully pulpy as this armour looks, I'll be sticking with the gear I already have.

* * * * *
On another note, here's a console command to find out what your current affinity score is with any character. The usual deal - stand close to the character, bring up the console, click on the character and make sure you get an ID, then type in the console:

getav CA_affinity

and hit enter (don't omit the underscore!) Events with characters are normally triggered at 250, 500, 750 and 1,000 affinity points, with 1,000 being the max.

You can also use the command

setav CA_affinity [value]

to cheat up your affinity level with that character (follow the command with a value not greater than 1000). This one can be a bit hit-and-miss though, so be warned, you might not get the result you want. Apparently, once you've entered that command, it will often only take effect when you do something that character "likes".

[Dweller_Benthos]

Yeah the fight in the Mechanist base is a tough one, I think I used something like 1,000 rounds for whatever gun I was using at the time (some kind of combat rifle I think, that does the double shot thing, but not the Overseer's Guardian, It was one I picked up somewhere). Then I found out if you pick up the right holotapes you can hack the elevator and just skip the entire fight. Also, and I think Art did this, if you show up in the Silver Shroud costume, there's more interesting dialog to be had.

There was also a Mechanist in Fallout 3, but a different person pretending to be the comic book character from the time before the war.

I had a mod that tracked companion affinity, came in handy to see what actions made them happy and what ones made them mad, and let you know how far you had to go before the next level up. It made getting Strong up to maximum very easy and fast as I didn't really want to hang around with him too much.

[fragger]

I read in the wiki about how you hear unique dialogue if you wear the Silver Shroud costume to deal with The Mechanist, but if I'm not in god mode, no thanks... I'll take good power armour and heavy-hitting weapons for that one

[Dweller_Benthos]

Yeah, probably best to change into the Shroud costume after the fight, I expect. Even with the upgrades Kent can put on it, and ballistic weave from the railroad, it might not be as good as power armor. Maybe, though, but you might have to have the mod that lets you put ballistic weave on everything.

[Art Blade]

The Mechanist's lair was quite the show, I have to say. There are few other events like that. Indeed I went in as the Shroud and the ensuing dialogue was awkwardly funny. I too let her live and put her armour on a mannequin.

I have a house full of mannequins displaying various unique outfits of a variety of characters who either gave those to me as a reward or whom I had to kill in order to get their outfit as a reward, and some were just collectible items.

Regarding affinity, there are two or three types of companions. Many of whom you can just set to 1,000 and all you need to do is walk around with them, their "last speech" mounting in a perk you acquire is just a matter of time. You don't even have to do anything to trigger that. And the other type is, you can't get to 1,000 before certain criteria are met. Paladin Danse is one of those. Some are a mix, like get to 1,000 and then do their missions and then get their last speech. I might be wrong a little but it should be quite close to how it works.

I cheated most of them to 1k because I didn't want to have them as active companions and that was because they'd like stuff that I didn't (threaten people, being aggressive, being sarcastic and so on and so forth) Examples are Cait, Deacon, MacCready and Strong.

[mandru]

I liked Strong and stayed paired up with him far longer than I needed to. 

He fit into my typical game play style of seeking out enemy factions and thrashing the snot out of them so it was easy to raise my affinity levels with him.  However it was tough getting the my own experience points to raise my levels while he was with me because he was too darn good at getting the final hits in and stealing my kills. 

I do wish that there had been a resolution to his personal quest to discover the secret of "The Milk of Human Kindness". 

[Art Blade]

fragger, it occurred to me to point out some more or less useful things I never mentioned before

first a little thing, mostly useless: during loading screens that are displaying something rotating slowly, like a dog, you can "grab" and turn it around with your mouse. Funny at times.

Now the more interesting bit: If you cook something, it won't have any RAD contamination any more which makes it a valuable he@lthy food source. Oftentimes you cook some perks up, too, like the one you found out that allows you to carry more.

There is more regarding food and radiation contamination: Take a close look at the stats of foods, especially in vaults, the Institute and medical facilities. You'll keep finding packaged food of all sorts, usually it's contaminated. But there are those rare packs that have got the same name, like Sugar Bombs, that may show up twice in your collection. One with, one without radiation. I've got a little collection of those rare items that are not contaminated Sometimes the name will reveal it, like "preserved" next to it. Just so you don't bore yourself to death 

[Art Blade]

Now that I don't have to do anything special, I have time to explore areas that I have been running through back and forth ever since I started the game, like Concord, where that Museum of Freedom is in which you met Preston for the first time. I never realised that the door there actually was an entrance to something called Concord Speakeasy because it's not marked on the map. The house actually features a front and a back entrance. In the screenshot you can see the museum in the background and I'm pointing at one of the entrances.

If you haven't yet been there, do it. Apart from the slightly disturbing events that must have taken place in there which makes the place worth visiting, there a couple of loot items and a safe but what's really interesting: there are two very rare and two extremely rare drugs waiting for you to be picked up. Use a good torch, a mining helmet for that matter might be a good idea, or you might not see them.

Concord Speakeasy
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[fragger]

Thanks for the info, mate I've got a locker full of cooked goodies and I always take a few with me when I venture out. But I didn't know about the non-contaminated packaged foods. When I see things like Cram or Sugar Bombs I generally leave them alone. I wondered what the point of those was actually, apart from maybe as sellable items or something to eat if you were desperate enough. Now I know.

I've also mixed a bunch of sodas. I put a couple of soda machines in my marketplace and mixed up a few good ones. I discovered that the settlers make very good use of them as well after w0#k, there's often a queue of them waiting to use one I've gotten the happiness level up to 96% in Sanctuary, which is far and away my best settlement. A few others are into the high 70s, but they're all generally coming along. I thought about relocating my main base of operations to the Castle, but I've invested too much in Sanctuary to tear myself away from it now. My house is there - my pre-war one as well as my new one.

Moving to a new home in this game would almost involve as much hassle as it does in reality All the stuff I've got stored away would be a major pain to relocate.

I'll check out the speakeasy in Concord. I'm amazed at how many hidden little gems are tucked away. If someone who has put in thousands of hours, like you have, can still find new things and places, it should keep me occupied for a while

Heh, I get out of bed and think to myself, "Is there anything I have to do this morning?", and if not, I make a coffee and jump straight into the game

[Art Blade]

excellent 

what soda machines? particularly the plural. I suppose you mean that soda fountain you "create" when doing those funny experiments in vault 88?

[fragger]

No, somewhere in the Build menu are four Nuka-Cola machines you can build (they all do the same thing though, they just have different skins). Once built, you can interact with them to make 5 or 6 soda mixes for health and other benefits, like you do when you cook food.

I'll fire up the game now and track them down, I can't remember exactly where in the Build menu they are. Hang on...

[fragger]

Found them, they're in the Crafting menu. Scroll right to he end.

Maybe they come with one of the add-ons, I'm not sure. They're called "Nuka-Mixer Stations".

UPDATE I just looked online, they come with the Nuka World add-on. You need various varieties of Nuka Cola to make each of the 5 mixes.

They look like this:

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