Hello,
I just recently started playing FO2, with no experience with the original. After some repeated fine-tuning due to in-game experience in the Temple of Trial, I settled on a character that seemed satisfactory. Got him (and Sulik) to the Den, but by then had started rethinking if I really wanted to finish the game the first time with that char, so copied the save files to a backup directory (in case I ever want to come back to him), and started a new char, emphasizing different things.
With the first char, I went straight from the Village to Klamath, and from Klamath to the Den, without stopping in any intervening squares (didn't really realize that I could, the first time). With the second char, I advanced on the over-land map from square to square. Had no random encounters between the Village and Klamath.
When I had finished up business in Klamath, I headed northwest, to see what would happen, since there was mention in Klamath of 'tribes' to the NW (it occurred to me they might have meant the Village I started from, but that Village was W, not NW, so I wasn't sure). When I didn't find anything NW & N of Klamath, I just started going East, square by square. I got several squares E of Klamath before I finally got a random encounter. Just after that, I got a dream from Hakunin (spelling?), reminding me that the village was suffering. So I decided to quickly head to the Den, and get on with the GECK quest.
Well, of course, suddenly I started getting random encounters about every other square!
Some of them were pretty tough. By the time I finally got to the Den, my char was clvl 6, and both my INV (250 cap) and Sulik's were full. 6 hunting rifles, several spears, a couple of pistols, a SMG, knives, etc.
So, the storyline is that while you are learning the ways of the world, the village is dying. My question is, is there actually a definite deadline by which you have to return the GECK to the village, or the village will die and you will fail?
Or can you basically just play the game at your own pace, following up on as many random encounters and side quests as you want to, along your path of looking for the GECK?
In regards to other questions, how useful is the 'science' skill? My first char was brains rather than brawn, and had tag skills of Melee (reluctantly; originally it was to be Outdoorsman), Doctor, and Science. But I got to the Den, and hadn't seen much if any evidence that the Science skill had been at all useful along the way. Does it become moreso later in the game, or is just not worth being a tag skill?
The same question for 'Doctor?' It's more useful in the early going than Science, but it's effects can be mostly duplicated by other means, so maybe it's not worth being a tag skill, either. Opinions? [My second char, btw, has Small Arms, Melee Weapon, and Steal as Tag skills, with Gifted and Good Natured as Traits]
BTW, does this forum have a 'Search' function? I haven't found it yet, if so.
Thanks in advance for any answers.
Regards,
Dako-ta
http://home.att.net/~diablo.miscellanea/