Not related to the fallouts here on GoG, so i post it here.

I finally got myself to finish the main storyline,
and i couldn't continue playing, apparently that's even the case if i tell the girl to go and die.
Is there something i still can do so that i can continue the game from that point?
I understand that fallout got quite a view different ends.

If i can not continue i don't get the point of having a level system,
and why i should build a certain karma or do side quests etc.
Isn't that supposed to be an open world RPG instead of a simple shooter?
Oblivion also left me that option even if i couldn't go to oblivion anymore.
And what's the point of DLC then? I finished the bloody thing and i can't continue,
why should i start over to look at 30 minutes of additional content?

I don't really get it.
I'm sure that there are many side quests i haven't discovered,
looking at how many i done in oblivion and how many i done in fallout,
but i simply lack the motivation to go back if i can't survive the main storyline.
It's a bit like getting your game deleted instantly the moment you reach the top of the career ladder in sims.
There just is no point to this, what did bethesda think?
They better not try that on Skyrim, or i get really arsi with them.
I can see why most games need an ending, but for an open world RPG i don't see the need,
and feel it's a reason not to recommend/buy it. This really messed up my day - big time.

Did i really miss something? Sorry for the rambling, i'm really frustrated right now.

Did you buy Broken Steel? If you didn't, then no, you can't continue.

If you don't want to purchase the DLC, there are likely several fan made mods out there that achieves the same effect.

Yes the base Fallout 3 story is finished at the water purifier after the Take it Back mission. You have to have the DLC Broken Steel installed to continue the story. If you made Sarah Lyons go in to switch on the purifier she remains dead, if you did it your self then you come back to life like Lazarus.

There might be mods out there to extend the game without Broken Steel but without the various DLC addons there isnt much to actually do other than fetch quests.

Yes. This is the only way to continue it (unless there is a mod) and I would recommend getting it because it increases your level cap from 20 to 30 as well.

If the OP is using a PS3 or Xbox 360, I don't think there are mods for that. But there are ones for PC.

I don't own a PS3 or XBox360.
This is quite odd, i hope they do a better job with Skyrim, especially since a DLC to be able to continue, what never should have ended,
feels a bit like having to buy the last piece of a jigsaw puzzle separately.
Side quests also seem to be rarer than in oblivion which i find quite sad.
Thanks for the help.

You *can* buy Broken Steel, which is pretty fun and provides quite a few extra hours for its price, but you could also try some mods on Fallout 3 Nexus (assuming you're playing on PC or even the 360, because you can use mods on 360 if you know how), such as Free Play After MQ.

Oh, also, I can understand why you're put out over this, but I personally enjoyed the ending, I thought it provided a satisfying end to the story, and I wasn't too bothered that it ended when it did, so I don't really think it's a game killer.

Yes every story needs it's end, but it doesn't mean it must be the end of everything,
especially in RPGs i don't get it, those are usually more than just a storyline you follow to the end and then just be done with it,
i just expected that i could go back to do the things i still wanted to do.

Well, compared to oblivion, it seems rather hasty, in oblivion i have side-quests everywhere,
tons of fractions i can join, i can do a dungeon if i feel like it, it's what an RPG should be like.
What did bethesda think?
Well i guess it was fun and it's still a 7 out of 10 but it could have been much more without addons or dlc.
Sorry for rambling on about this, i'm just somewhat disappointed in this.
I really fear a bit for Skyrim right now, it's the only game i'm really looking forward to this year,
so this experience comes as a bit of a bummer.

I suppose you're right in that it would have been better if they'd written an ending that didn't mean the game just stopped, but I wholeheartedly disagree that Oblivion is a better game.
Perhaps it's because I played FO3 first, but I far prefer everything about FO3 to Oblivion, from the design to the RPG mechanics, etc. There are a ton of sidequests in FO3, but most of them aren't signposted, they're more subtle, and there's a whole host of places that you don't need to explore, but that have lots of little background plot info tucked away in them, it's really well done in that way.

Fallout should end, since your actions should change the world and the ending slides should explain the differences you made.

And what's the big deal with loading up a save before the end? I don't get that... Dead Money came out for New Vegas so I just loaded up my save before the ending battle and went about doing Dead Money. It wasn't hard.

@3,14159:
(Sorry pie, couldn't resist)
I somewhat agree, for example the quest where you find that tape, and then have to deliver that piece of clothing.
Though i would have liked it to get into the quest log, i found this to be a very interesting way to implement a quest.
Fallout did a lot better than oblivion in term of feel and look, especially the interface,
and the fact that you don't have to sleep to level was rather pleasant for example.
The bit about the story-bits in places is true, oblivion also had that here and there, but not like that.
Overall i still found oblivion more enjoyable, i guess it's also partially down to what one expects and what the individual makes of it.
I found the way it came to an end rather harsh, and expected that i could continue,
obviously that heavily influenced the way i judge it.
Others may see that different and may be fine with it though.
Cor blimey, a discussion without insults, thanks for that by the way,
never though it's still possible on the internet.

@Velvet:
I was thinking i had to re-do all of it, i wasn't aware of the fact,
that it's basically just the end-sequence again, till it was mentioned.
Got myself the DLC, now it sometimes crashes upon start, but it works.
At least something, but i guess that's the way it works these days.

Well as for the main storyline: I found it somewhat quick.
I come out of the vault, look for daddy, activate a big water thing and the whole thing stops.
Don't get me wrong, it's enjoyable and a good game, but i find it could have been more.
I was feeling that it was coming to an end, but i wished there would have been more.
There is so much else, with raiders, slavery, the wasteland is still a wasteland and so on.
They could have avoided this by letting me continue freely, if you don't care for it it's fine,
you still can just step away from it and consider it played though, i didn't though,
so i feel the argument remains valid even though it may be down to the personal expectations.

If you prefer Oblivion then I would imagine you are playing vanilla Fallout 3. Trust me when I say it's a completely different game with a few choice mods installed. Once you have finished Broken Steel and the other DLC (I highly recommend Point Lookout and The Pitt) then pop over to the Nexus and check out Wasteland Wanderers Edition or FWE, it's a total overhaul.

Plus you can get the Almost Perfect perk from Broken Steel (I think it's this one). If you didn't pick up any bobbleheads yet you can have 10 in all your stats (choose Ant's Might perk if you blew up Megaton to replace the permanently lose Str bobblehead).

Of course, I have no idea if they fixed this but if you have some of those DLCs installed from the beginning you can get seriously screwed with a high level monster wiping out an important caravan or NPC when you're not looking but in the general area.

Sorry for being so late.
Aside from broken steel i play it vanilla at the moment, but i will try the wanderers edition,
it certainly sounds quite interesting, looking at the pitt, bethesd certainly learned something about DLC,
i wish they would make it a bit less expansive though.

@Orc:
I picked ant vision long ago, but also didn't blow up megaton
Only picked up about 4 bobbleheads so far, that's one of the reasons why i wanted to continue,
i still wanted to get them all.
Didn't touch the DLC till the end of the game, i was already 19,
but it's sad to hear that fallout also got that problem.
I encountered this issue before in oblivion, in oblivion it was easily fixed by re spawning the NPC over the console,
i guess that should also fix it in fallout if i encounter it (i hope).