Fallout 3

72 Achievements

1550

73-98h

Xbox 360

Scientific Pursuits

Completed "Scientific Pursuits"

How to unlock the Scientific Pursuits achievement in Fallout 3 - Definitive Guide

KamhiX96

TrueAchievements

20 Jul 2009 01:41

I missed this achievement on my first playthrough because I went to the Jefferson Memorial before talking to Dr. Li. I just got it on my current playthrough by following a guide from the Fallout wiki, and this was the path it suggested.

1) *OPTIONAL* Talk to Three Dog at Galaxy News Radio about your dad, and complete the corresponding quest.
(Thrydwolf has confirmed that the achievement will pop even if you skip the Galaxy News Radio quest. Randy2084 has claimed that skipping GNR and Three Dog may cause a different achievement, "Following in His Footsteps," to glitch, though that is the first time I've heard of it. If anyone else can confirm this please do so in the comments.)

2) Travel to Rivet City, and talk to Dr. Li about where your dad went. DO NOT HEAD TO THE JEFFERSON MEMORIAL BEFOREHAND, AS THIS WILL CAUSE THE ACHIEVEMENT TO GLITCH.

3) *OPTIONAL* Head to the Jefferson Memorial, go into the Gift Shop, and from there go into the Rotunda. Listen to Holotape #10 to discover your dad's location.
(sjpsjpsjp has confirmed that the achievement will pop even if you skip this step and go directly to step #4.)

4) Head to Smith Casey's Garage, flip the electrical switch on the wall inside, head down the stairs, and enter Vault 112.

5) Talk to the Robobrain inside and get the Vault 112 jumpsuit and put it on. Head downstairs to the pods, enter the unoccupied one, and you'll end up in Tranquility Lane.
If you have followed this guide, you should get the achievement upon arrival.

20 Jul 2009 01:41

18 Comments

How wierd :/ i really don't know how i've missed this :(

By Satan777 on 02 Oct 2009 20:15

I did all of this and did not get the achievements even if i completed the quest ! WTF

By joce666 on 30 Dec 2009 04:19

I'm not sure either, this achievement is just a bit buggy.

By KamhiX96 on 30 Dec 2009 05:08

i missed it

By Que Lo Que xD on 27 Jan 2010 19:34

didn't pop for me?!

By SpectreSubZero on 30 Jan 2010 21:59

After all this time, I am replaying Fallout 3 just to mop up some achievements I missed the first time. Scientific pursuits was one of those. Not getting that buggy achievement has haunted me until last night. I did exactly like you said in your guide and it popped for me. For those reading...DO NOT GO TO JEFFERSON MEMORIAL BEFORE YOU TALK TO THREE DOG. I know, I know, "but it's a game that encourages you to explore!".......

By Jayngo on 19 Feb 2010 11:32

It glitched for me aswell and i followed your guide and got it, Thank you so much! :D

I straight away went back and killed Dr Li for making me have to start over again.

By XxSpazemxX on 06 Jan 2011 13:52

Thanks Thrydwolf for confirming this! I've added your information to the solution.

By KamhiX96 on 17 Sep 2011 21:49

I can confirm that you can also skip step 3.

I'm playing through Fallout 3 again and again I went to Jefferson's Memorial first. I reloaded an old save prior to that, talked to Dr. Li, went to Smith Casey's Garage, and once I entered Tranquility Lane the achievement popped.

By sjpsjpsjp on 06 Jun 2013 02:48

Thanks sjpsjpsjp, I'll add that info to the solution as well.

By KamhiX96 on 06 Jun 2013 05:41

Stupid buggy achievement. This will be my last attempt.

By Xeno Smoke on 18 Jun 2013 19:10

@randy2084: Thanks for the confirmation, and that's interesting about the "Following in His Footsteps" achievement glitching if you skip GNR and Three Dog. First time I've heard of that, think I'll add that into my solution now.

By KamhiX96 on 15 Jan 2014 21:56

I can confirm this achievement is Missable and indeed not part of the Main Storyline. On leaving Vault 101 I went exploring and ended up in Vault 112. This started:

The Tranquility Lane achievement in Fallout 3 worth 27 pointsCompleted "Tranquility Lane"

This meant I skipped three quests:

The Following in His Footsteps achievement in Fallout 3 worth 24 pointsCompleted "Following in His Footsteps"

The Galaxy News Radio achievement in Fallout 3 worth 27 pointsCompleted "Galaxy News Radio"

The Scientific Pursuits achievement in Fallout 3 worth 27 pointsCompleted "Scientific Pursuits"

After finishing the Main Storyline I was able to go back and get the first two, but not this one.

By HolyHalfDead on 17 Jul 2014 21:54

So I can also confirm that

The Following in His Footsteps achievement in Fallout 3 worth 24 pointsCompleted "Following in His Footsteps"

is skipable, not glitched. If you did skip it, then the first time you speak to Three Dogs you will get the achievement, no matter what point you are at in the Main Storyline.

By HolyHalfDead on 17 Jul 2014 22:03

I missed this too on the first playthrough. Thankfully I had a save before the completing the GNR mission so I loaded it up and ran through the missions again and it popped once I sat in the chair of Vault 112

By Bernman 117 on 29 Aug 2016 15:41

Missed on the first and second, got on the third. Can confirm going to Rivet City first and talking to Li before raiding the Jefferson Memorial and collecting the holotapes (running past it for the Fast Travel Waypoint doesn't effect it)

By Bobo Magrot0 on 26 Sep 2021 07:06

I can confirm 100% that it is okay to go to Rivet City and talk to Doctor Li. I did this early on, then when I realized I may have screwed up this achievement I stayed away from Jefferson Memorial. I then when to GNR for the first time, even though the main quest didn't direct me there. Three Dog did NOT give me any information about my father after completing the Galaxy News Radio quest. Then after finishing the GNR quest I followed the main story line quest to Jefferson Memorial, and followed the solution steps above. As soon as a sat in the pod and moved to the next scene, the achievement popped. Cheers!

By Thrydwolf on 17 Sep 2011 02:45

Achievement glitched on me initially as I visited the Jefferson Memorial before speaking with Dr. Li. Can confirm that your solution is dead on...I loaded an earlier save (before I had been to either Rivet City or the Jefferson Memorial) and went directly to Rivet City. Spoke with Dr. Li, which should complete "Following in His Footsteps" and give you "Scientific Pursuits". Then went directly to Smith Casey's Garage and unlocked the achievement upon entering the lounger. It should be noted that if you do not go to GNR to speak with Three Dog, the achievement for "Following in his Footsteps" probably will glitch until you speak with him (it did for me), but you don't need to speak with Three Dog to unlock this achievement. The glitch seems to only occur with this achievement if you visit the Jefferson Memorial before speaking with Dr. Li to get the "Scientific Pursuits" quest. Thumbs up!

By randy2084 on 15 Jan 2014 21:52

View all 18 comments Show less comments

The, Pants, Party, mmartynn, NFaMuS, one, Cacky, YOUN

XboxAchievements

After speaking with Three Dog, head to Rivet City to try and find your father. Head to the Science Lab and speak with Dr. Li to learn that he has yet again moved on. Set off for the Jefferson Memorial and enter the door labeled "Gift Shop." Head to the control room of Project Purity and find Audio Tape 10. Listen to it to find that he has gone to Vault 112. Set off for Vault 112 where a robot will ask you to put on a new outfit and use one of the Tranquility Loungers.

See Scientific Pursuits for more specific info.

The, Pants, Partymmartynn, NFaMuS, one, Cacky, YOUN

XboxAchievements

See Scientific Pursuits for more specific info.

Harry94, and, Terminator

PlaystationTrophies

Story Related but Highly MISSABLE

WARNING: Contrary to popular belief this trophy is not glitched but it is highly missable. You can miss out on this trophy for the current playthrough by discovering/exploring the Jefferson Memorial, Rivet City, Smith's Garage or the area immediately around them before talking to Three Dog and being explicitly told to go there by this specific mission.

After handing in the Galaxy News Radio Quest, Three Dog will tell you to find a Dr. Li in Rivet City. Getting to Rivet City will not be easy as you have to traverse several underground Metros but there is another way if you get stuck, Harry Fast Travelled back to the Farragut West Metro Station. There's only a couple of Centaurs and you can get to Rivet City pretty easily then.

Once you get to Rivet City, you'll have to speak to someone on the intercom to get the bridge moved. After gaining entry, find the Science Labs where Dr. Li will be working and after Speaking with her you'll be told to go to Project Purity in the Jefferson Memorial but pick up the Bobblehead that’s on her desk before you leave.

When you get to the Jefferson Memorial, watch out for Super Mutants as they'll be lots of them both outside and in. Your goal when you get inside is to find the Research Holotapes your Father left behind and one in particular, they're in Rotunda in the lab on top of the machine just outside the inner doors. Once you have the tapes, listen to them and afterwards you'll be given a map marker for Smith Casey’s Garage (which is on the West side of the map near Evergreen Mills).

After killing the mole rats and Radroaches inside the Garage, press the switch on the wall to reveal a secret tunnel that leads to Vault 112. Once inside the Vault you will be met by a Protectron who wants you to wear the appropriate clothes and will give you a Vault 112 Jump Suit, put this on. You then need to find and enter the only remaining unoccupied Lounger in the central area.

Once you enter the Lounger, the Quest will end and the trophy will pop.

SemFisher

stratege.ru

13 Jul 2011 10:00

This guide was translated automatically. Show original

This quest can be started after talking to Dr. Lee in the Rivet City Science Lab. She reveals the details of Project Purity and tells you where your father went - to the Jefferson Memorial. Go there, go to the control center of Project Purity and find audio tape 10 there. Listen to it and find out that the father went to shelter 112. Go to shelter 112, in the shelter the robot will ask you to put on new clothes and use one of the “Calming Loungers” .

13 Jul 2011 10:00