PC games...help me CHUD-kenobi, you're my only hope...

My guess is that you don't have enough memory available to run the game. Before you run it, make sure there are no applications running and kill everything in your system tray, especially any antivirus software that is running.
Hopefully that will help.

Also, how much memory do you have, how fast is your computer, what kind of video card do you have?

------------------
"A man who doesn't like Laurel an' Hardy just ain't worth a damn."

I've got the oddest situation with my old home computer. DOS based. When running a few children's games off the hard drive, I have to go into autoexec.bat & config.sys to disable the CD Rom & Soundcard in order to free up enough memory. Fine. I do this.

And the sound card still works.

STOP WITH THE TECH SUPPORT FOR GOD'S SAKE! I come here to get away from that.

We come here to get away from you, Johnny.
**What would society be without successful edge removal?**

hey grendel! those games both kick major booty. and don't feel ashamed for not owning a console. i haven't owned a console system since the nes, but still manage to log time on n64/playstation/dreamcast by mooching off friends. luckily, i too have the pc to fall back on.

as far as "swap space" that could mean you are either low on hard drive space, or as grim_fist said, you might be low on memory. although myth2's required baseline memory is 32 megs, i'd go with at least 64 on principle. the more the merrier.

in fallout 2, sometimes you can buy a 10mm pistol in klamath from the scummy bartender in the northwest corner on the first screen off the overworld. you can also find an incredibly crappy 10mm pipe rifle in vic's house in klamath (one shot at time!). if you can't hold out that long with the cheap pistol (which isn't too shabby early on), go to the den and trade for a 10mm sub-machine gun. those babies rock the house early on (burst mode!). to find out where the den is, talk to one of the whores in the bathhouse at klamath.

if you go to the den, there's lots of stuff available, but most of it won't be cheap, unless you've got decent bartering (or thieving) skills. don't waste money on the desert eagle or other guns that don't use 10mm ammo this early in the game because ammo is damn scarce in the post-nuclear world when you are only fighting rats... however later on, you can take whatever guns you please.

the early game of fallout2 is made quite a bit easier by having tagged the unarmed or melee skills at the outset of your character. but those skills pale later in comparison to being able to use small arms, energy or heavy weapons at decent skill levels. but that's the beauty of the game, the wealth of choices you can make.

oh, the perception loss for the powders is definitely temporary. losing perception makes you a crappier shot in terms of aiming. perception gives you a bonus or penalty to aiming as well as spotting certain detail in the game... early in the game this isn't that big a deal since you will mostly be using melee/unarmed combat (no need to aim far away when the farthest range you can attack from is 2 hexes with the spear/sledgehammer).

both these games are definitely cool, but if you like wargames and the fallout/x-com turn-based combat system, try out jagged alliance 2. if you can find it, it costs like $20 now and is a steal. it features many varied mercenaries that you contract out to help take over this fictional south american country. the game also models many real weapons and even has a science fiction subplot! heh. cool.

hope this helped,
/willko

don't worry about the date counter. there are no time sensitive missions that i can remember. time is of the essence for certain effects though, one of them being the perception loss from the healing powders. if you want to raise your perception back to sniper levels, just go to the pipboy and rest until fully healed. if you still are low, then keep resting for an hour at a time until you are better. time does not matter in this game, so feel free to use it up like harry knowles uses up twinkies.

/willko.

grendel, did you check out bungie.net's tech supports FAQ's? They are actually very helpful.

Secondly, don't waste your time, I will DESTROY YOU in Myth 2. DESTROY YOU!


uhm......did I mention that I will DESTROY YOU!?

no spoilers here grendel, but that robot is some kind of malfunctioning repair-bot, and that helicopter thingie is a downded vertibird. remember the opening movie, where the guys in badass power armor mowed down the yokels coming out of a vault? they were standing around one of those vertibird things. basically that whole part of klamath is foreshadowing...

and i don't mind discussing fallout 2, it was definitely one of my favorite games of the last few years. the black isle studios/interplay crew that began the series (tim cain, leonard boyarski, etc.) split off
and formed troika games. they are making a new fantasy rpg called arcanum (to be published by sierra studios), and it's got elements of a tolkienesque fantasy setting during an 'industrial revolution' of sorts. there have been a few previews on sites like http://www.gamespot.com or alternatively you can check out their website http://www.troika.com .

as mentioned by the wacokid ("excuse me while i whip this out...") earlier, you should definitely get planescape: torment after you finish fallout 2. especially if you were looking for more roleplaying elements in a game like baldur's gate.

general question to the peanut gallery, has everybody played any of the original x-com games, or jagged alliance games? both were excellent in offering turn based combat, which the fallout series co-opted as one of its best features.

/willko.