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-My first ASCII title ever!
FALLOUT 3: Hacking FAQ v1.2
Author:    DrAgRoS
Dave Bosley
Email:    TubaDave2513 at gmail dot com
(change at to @ and dot to . and take away the spaces)
First Posted : 10/31/2008
***************************************************************************
This is a guide to the finer points of hacking terminals in Fallout 3. It
includes tips and tricks that will enable you to easily hack every terminal
in the game.
***************************************************************************
Table of Contents:
[I] Hacking? WTF is that?
[I.1] Why is hacking useful?
[I.2] Do i need to know how to hack to beat the game?
[II] How to Hack
[II.1] Getting Started
[II.2] Hacking Requirements
[II.3] Hacking Interface
[II.4] Spotting the Best Word
[II.5] Process of Elimination
[II.6] If All Else Fails
[II.7] The Bracket Trick
[III] Special Thanks
[IV] Version Info
[V] Closing Stuff
***************************************************************************
[I] Hacking? WTF is that?
***************************************************************************
[I.1] Why is hacking useful?
Computer terminals are scattered throughout the desecrated ruins of
Washington D.C. in Fallout 3. Often times these terminals can do anything
from open a safe or locked door to giving away a piece of the story you
would not get otherwise. Without knowing how to hack properly you would be
missing out on some of the best loot, the coolest weapons, the most fun
secrets, and a good chunk of the story. So I'm here to teach you the
process of hacking like a 1337 pro.
***************************************************************************
[I.2] Do i need to know how to hack to beat the game?
While it is not necessary to know how to hack to actually finish all of
the story missions in Fallout 3, you really haven't truely beaten the game
until you experience all this masterpiece has to offer. If you don't have
the knowledge of hacking at your disposal, there is no way to get this
experience.
***************************************************************************
[II] How to Hack
***************************************************************************
[II.1] Getting Started
It's now time to get into the juicy bits of the hacking minigame in Fallout
3. At first glance, the green flickering screen with hundreds of random
looking characters may be daunting, but once you understand how to use it
properly it will be very simple to use.
***************************************************************************
[II.2] Hacking Requirements
All terminals in Fallout 3 have a difficulty, there are 5 in total. If you
are able to hack the terminal or not is based on your science skill. The
different difficulties are as follows:
[Difficulty]    [Science Skill Required]
Very Easy        0
Easy            25
Average            50
Hard            75
Very Hard        100
Your science skill not only dictates what terminals you are able to hack,
but it also determines how many passwords will be on the screen to choose
from.
(if anyone knows the math behind this please e-mail me at the address at
the top of the page)
***************************************************************************
[II.3] Hacking Interface
The hacking interface is as follows:
---------------------------------------------------------
ROBCO INDUSTRIES (TM) TERMLINK PROTOCOL                  |
ENTER PASSWORD NOW                                       |
|
4 ATTEMPT(S) LEFT : [] [] [] []                          |
|
0xF92C %*-}'!.-[)#! 0xF9F8 :($-?!!}'%_(                  |
0xF938 (>!];-/\[=(, 0xFA04 /?;_;#"]!!:,                  |
0xF944 @PARTNERSHIP 0xFA10 %'%{.@@}#?|+                  |
0xF950 S=\]%,*?++:] 0xFA1C ="||^4/12 correct.
>[]
This means that 4 of the 12 letters in APPRECIATION were the correct letter
and in the correct place. Now I need to find a word that shares ONLY 4
letters in the same place as APPRECIATION.
Because "ATION" has 5 letters in it, that means the word does NOT end in
"ATION" but that does not rule out "TION" or "ION."
Here are the possibilities (the arrows point to letters that each have).
APPRECIATION    APPRECIATION
TRANSMISSION    CONSTRUCTION
^  ^^^            ^^^^
There are only 2 possibilities! That means that because we still have 3
chances, there is no way for us to fail hacking this terminal.
I will try CONSTRUCTION first...
>CONSTRUCTION
>Entry denied
>3/12 correct.
CONSTRUCTION
TRANSMISSION
^^^
Well that means that TRANSMISSION must be the password!
>Entry accepted.
Success!
***************************************************************************
[II.6] If All Else Fails.
That last attempt was a success, but what if you got to your last attempt
and the answer was not certain? What do you do now?
You have 3 options.
#1) The Gamble
Just eliminate as many choices as you can and make a guess between
the remaining words. I do not suggest or recommend using this
method in ANY situation. If you mess up, the terminal will lock and
you can never open it unless you find an item that has the password
on it.
#2) Start Over
Click the power button at the bottom of the interface and exit the
terminal. As soon as you exit, you are able to try again just by
entering the terminal again. Use this method if you have no
possible way of doing method #3).
#3) Bracket Tricks
This method is a little more in-depth, so I will devote section
II.7 to it alone.
***************************************************************************
[II.7] The Bracket Trick
Hidden in the code block you may be able to find what I like to refer to as
a "Bracket Trick." A Bracket Trick is a collection of those random
punctuation marks that appear between the words that are encased in a
bracket of any kind. In the code block above, there is one hidden in there.
The second column of the Code Block and the third row contains this line:
0xFA10 %'%{.@@}#?|+
The Bracket trick in this line is:
{.@@}
Every terminal has a chance to produce bracket tricks, but not every
terminal will have one. Some may even have multiple tricks. To tell if you
have found a Bracket Trick all you have to do is hover the cursor over the
opening bracket. If the entire thing lights up, congratulations, you found
it!
A Bracket trick can be between a few different types of brackets:
[____]   {____}   (____)
Any of these can be any size possible in the scope of the code block and
they can be across many lines.
A Bracket Trick will never contain a possible password.
I have found that the best way to search a code blcok for tricks is to just
move the cursor over every character and if something that is not a word
lights up, you found one.
Now that you know what they look like and how to find them easily you
probably want to know why you want these.
These have a random chance when clicked to either give you back all of your
attempts or remove a possibility from the Code Block.
The best time to use one is when you have 1 attempt remaining so you can
possibly get back the highest number of attempts.
***************************************************************************
[III] Special Thanks
***************************************************************************
This is a quick thank you to all of the readers who sent me corrections,
suggestions, help, or whatever.
-Reaper III
-for correcting me on how many attempts a bracket trick fixes.
THANKS!!!
***************************************************************************
[IV] Version Info
***************************************************************************
1.0 - First Publish, All you ever wanted to know about hacking but didn't!
1.1 - Fixed a little error on my part about how many attempts bracket
tricks give back.
1.2 - Found another instance that I said bracket tricks only give 1 attempt
back, which of course, is an error.
***************************************************************************
[V] Closing Stuff
***************************************************************************
I hope you all enjoy my very first FAQ! Please send any comments or
corrections to my email at the top of the page.
Happy Hacking!
-Dave 'DrAgRoS' Bosley
***************************************************************************
This guide is free for distribution, just don't call it your own or my
lawyer may be knocking at your door!
=D
Fallout 3: Hacking Guide by DrAgRoS
Version 1.1, Last Updated 2008-11-03 View/Download Original File
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