Fallout 1 Controls

Fallout 1 Controls > Inventory & Items

You start the game right outside the vault blast door. The first thing you should do is, obviously, equip yourself with a gun. Bring up your interface by clicking the INV button at the bottom of the screen (hotkey: i). Click & drag the pistol to the ITEM1 slot. Release the mouse button. Repeat the action for the knife and ITEM2 box. You are now armed and dangerous! Notice the info on the right: your name, your stats, resistances, how much damage your gun and knife do, and the weight of the items you're carrying. Click on the DONE button to exit the interface.

 

You can see now that you have a weapon equipped. Two, actually, but we'll talk about that later. Let's go back to the inventory (press i or click the INV button) so I can show you how to use an item. Place your mouse cursor over the flares icon. HOLD down left-click for options. The first option, the binoculars, will always provide info about the object selected. The second option, the hand, will 'use' the item. In our case, the character will turn on one of the flares. Keeping it in your inventory doesn't do you any good, so let's drop it. Move your cursor over the lit flare at the bottom, hold down left mouse button and choose the drop hand icon. Click DONE to exit. You can now see the flare on the ground, lighting up a small area around it, and making it easier for you to see what's going on.

 

Items in your inventory can be used, dropped, or sold. For example, if your hit points get dangerously low (they became red) after fighting with the cave rats, you can 'use' a stimpak to heal yourself. Now, place the mouse cursor over the vault door console/computer (to your left). A text will appear in the info window (bottom left) saying: "You see: Door Entry Computer." This is very common in Fallout 1: you'll often get information when placing the mouse cursor over various objects in the game world, including NPCs, and some of that information can be hilarious, so it's worth checking out every time. When you see the hand icon, left click. It will say that your computer no longer recognizes your access codes. They locked you out. Bastards!

TIP: If the mouse cursor is at the upper or bottom parts of the info window, an arrow will be visible, allowing you to scroll back through the messages.

 

Now, look to the right of your character: you'll see a skeleton on the ground. That's Ed. Ed's dead. After feeling sorry for Ed for a whole second let's loot his body! Right click to turn the cursor into an arrow, and then left-click on Ed's body when you see a hand. Drag and drop items from the right (loot window) to the left (your inventory). Click DONE to confirm. Sorry, Ed!

TIP: You can always loot dead enemies after the combat ends. Or even during combat, but that will consume AP (Action Points), so I don't recommend it.

 

You can pick up items from the ground by simply left-clicking on them. They will be added automatically to your inventory, as long as you're not going over your max allowed carry weight. Pay attention to your surroundings as some items are hard to see, especially if you're playing Fallout 1 with the HD patch (1920x1080 resolution).

Fallout 1 Controls > Combat

To initiate combat in Fallout 1, either left-click on your weapon slot on the bottom interface or press A. Enemies will glow red when in attack mode. Often, opponents will attack automatically when you're in their range, like those pesky rad rats you're facing now. Left click on them to engage. If you're not in their range, move closer. It also helps to move closer if you have a ranged weapon with low hit percentage, such as a plasma rifle or a rocket launcher (you should have invested in more Perception, ese). When in combat, movement, firing, and any other actions are done in turn-based mode (you take turns with your enemies).

TIP: Invest more points in "Small Guns" to increase your hit chance with those guns. Your character's Perception is very important to land shots.

 

Now, let's try attacking those cave rats... Either initiate the combat yourself or move close to one of them. Unlike the recent games, you can attack everyone in Fallout 1, even kids, even your Overseer! That's the meaning of true roleplay; unlike those p*ssy Bethesda characters that just faint when you attack them. The Wasteland is an unforgiving place in the good ol' games.

   

You will notice that a gunshot drains 5 Action Points. You can use the remaining AP to either run away, fire another gun, open your inventory, or even punch someone. Click on the red, round button above to the picture of your pistol to switch to knife, which only takes 3 AP to use. To do it quicker, press B (hotkey). Switching weapons in combat doesn't cost AP.

If you right-click once on the weapon slot, a targeted attack symbol will appear in the lower right corner of the box. Should you click on a rad rat now, you will make a targeted attack. This will allow you to attack specific areas on your targets, such as the head or the legs. Some areas of a rat are harder to hit. However, you'll be able to inflict more damage or other effects if you're successful. Should you right-click on the pistol again, a RELOAD text will appear. Let-click to reload your gun. This action will draw 2 AP if in combat mode. Some weapons and items have an ammo bar, some don't, like melee weapons.

Fallout 1 Controls > Movement

Moving in Fallout 1 is fairly simple, but if you don't know how to run (and most players don't) it can be a pain in the arse. First, your cursor must look like a red hex. If it doesn't, right-click once. Move by simply placing the cursor where you want to go and LEFT click once. Double-click to run (you can also hold SPACE and left-click). If you're like me and don't care about Sneaking, you can turn on "Always Run" from the game Options, so you won't have to double click all the time.

 

You can exit the area you are currently in by bringing your character to the darker edges of the screen. This will take you to the outside world (the world map). To move on that map, simply left-click anywhere. When you move, time passes, so don't be moving without a purpose! Only go to the places you know -- the buttons on the right side of the screen. As you move towards Vault 15, you will notice a green circle showing up on the world map between the two vaults. A circle denotes an important area. Vault 13 has one since it is important.

Fallout 1 Controls > Talking to People

Talking to NPCs is pretty straight forward. NPCs are people in the game world. NPC stands for "non-player character." The NPCs have their own stories and motives, so feel free to interact with them and see if they have any useful information or quests for you.

 

Some NPCs will not talk to you. Some will shoot first and ask questions later. To engage with those that do have something to say, first make sure your cursor is an arrow (not an hex). Right-click once, remember? Then move the mouse cursor over an NPC. A face icon will show up. Left-click to interact with that person.

TIP: Think you can't talk to a Radscorpion in this game? Wrong! You will be surprised about some of the NPCs and items you can interact with...

 

Some NPCs will have short over-the-head dialogues lines when you click on them. Those people don't have much to say to you. Some dialogues are automatically displayed when nearby or as warnings (if in red). If someone asks you to back off, it would be wise to listen; unless you're bored, or you think you can handle them.

Fallout 1 Controls > Hotkeys

You may press F1 during the game at any time to pop-up the Help window. And by help, I mean Fallout 1 shortcut keys. Some hotkeys can be used in combat, and some are useless. At least to me, since I never find a use for them. Alright, let's see now...

You may use numeric keys (1-8) to activate a skill. I only use 2 for lock picking. You might want to use 1 for sneaking (make sure Always Run is turned off in Settings) and 3 for pickpocketing (if you made a Steal build). Check out the rest of the hotkeys below.

 

Use ESC to access the in-game menu or dismiss non-dialogue windows (ie. loot).

Press the SPACE bar or ENTER to end turn/combat.

If you lost your character press the Home key to center the camera on him/her.

I brings up your inventory (consumes 4 AP in combat).

S opens your SKILLDEX (or you can use the numeric keys 1 to 8).

P accesses your PipBoy to check the date or rest (can't be used in combat).
Z allows you to rest & heal (cannot be used in combat and specific locations).

A initiates combat (alternatively, click on your weapon slot).
B switches equipped items (doesn't use AP in combat).

C activates your character screen (use it when you level up or to check skills).

N cycle through actions for equipped items (alternatively, right-click on item box).

CTRL + X quits the game (but will ask you first).

CTRL + S/L brings up the Save/Load menu.
Even faster, use F6 and F7 to Quick Save and Quick Load.

Is your game too dark? Use the + and - keys to adjust brightness on the fly (very useful).

Want to know the version of your Fallout game? Press CTRL+V and check the bottom left window. Finally, you can quickly check the date by pressing the ? key.

 

Well, that's pretty much it! I hope you've learned a lot about Fallout 1 controls and how to use hotkeys to get around the game faster. See you around the Wasteland, friend!

 

Read next: Fallout 1 Character Creation

 

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