The people you're trying to rescue. The longer you do random sidequests before launching The Final Mission!?, the worse it is for the prisoners.
(this is, of course, only after you get the ability to do the final mission..... before that, you've got all the time in the world to explore & do random crap.)

Didn't know that.
...
Does it matter if the people die?
Didn't seem to matter so much for my playthrough and I did the rest of the sidequests before starting suicide mission.

Interesting!

I say let them all die, I don't rescue on a schedule.

Well, if you're trying for the "saved everyone!" achievement, it's kind of important.

(Also, if you've made any connection with the characters and care about what happens to them, then getting to see them die has to svck. Also blows any chance of romancing , not that it's much of a "romance".)



And no-one knows yet, of course, what effect the various deaths will have on part 3. /shrug

I guess I must've been a master player since I got the achievement and saved kelly even though I didn't have any rush in starting the suicide mission.

I'm back. At any rate, (getting off topic here) I'm going to do everything before it even comes to the final mission or anywhere near the final mission. Just to be on the safe side.

i would have been ok with fallout 3's enging it it had prompted me to save before i got stuck in the memorial, since thats fixed i'll just reload my save in new vegas. i don't get the argument that you can't keep playing after finishing the main quest just load a save it's the only real way that are choices can have consequences in the world otherwise we end up with fallout 3 post broken steel nothing i had done made any difference. theres no way they could recreate the world for each ending so you left with a choice having no impact on the world or having a good story end and reload a save. i hope obsidian sticks to their gyns and doesn't give a broken steel like dlc.

Broken Steel made me feel so useless and overpowered. Kinda like a forgotten god, like Thor or Odin, no one worships them anymore (well, a few houndred still does, don't know how serious they are though) and they were said to be very powerful gods. And that's kinda how you are left in Broken Steel - you did all these really great deeds, saved the Capitol Wasteland, you're level 30, have maxed out almost every single skill and stat, have every important perk there is, the most powerful weapon and armor and people still greet you like "Hello, stranger." or "How you feel about collecting cameras for me?" Yeah, that's really nice. Why don't I have a really high position within the BoS, why don't I get cool and hard missions from them, why don't all the settlements around the wasteland build statues, shrines and temples to my glory, and start cults and fan clubs? Or have me in the city council? Or in control of the trading caravans?

Well, this isn't Bethesda anymore, it's Obsidian. I'm sure they could make it work better than Bethesda did.

Exactly my thoughts. Just ruins the immersion for me.
Most people here like to have a good story with choices, be good, be bad and then go play something else. I like to live in games world. Out of the story, out of the plot. So far Bethesda is doing a great job with their RPGs, Yeah I am Bethesdas fan and I really like what they did with Fallout 3, to remove the ending.

I really can't understand why there are always people against more things added. Do they bother you, if there is play option after the end, is it going to harm your play style? Or you need to have something to push you to replay the game again?

Ending sliders roll, lots of important stuff is going to happen, lots of places had major changes about them, some in weeks, some in years aaaaand BAM! You're back into the wasteland and not a single thing has changed. :shrug:
Now you can play the game just like you would have if you had just left the final quest for last. >_>
If you feel such a need to complete the story then do so.
Then reload or start a new character.
But really, if there is something or someone that literally forces you to finish the main quest and you simply CANNOT avoid completing it.
Then just finish it.
That simple.
Oh you forgot to do 20 sidequests?
Well, start a new character and go do them now and take on another main quest line along the way.

I don't think most people are against the idea of continued play, so much as those of us who are taking the other "side" on this feel that it's not an integral element for an enjoyable RPG. It wouldn't bother me if they added the option, because it's still not something I would necessarily make use of, anyway. :shrug:

The faction gameplay and multiple endings makes it very hard to make an open ending that doesn't svck. Deal with it guys, the play style is just different. This prompts you to enjoy the journey within the game and play it multiple times.
It's not that I don't like open ended games, its just the story would greatly suffer for it, and they made a good choice in giving a definite ending.