Brand new fallout 3 player LF advice/tips : )

there is a little booklet that comes with the game. read it.

1: To hotkey weapons or stims hold the number key you want to assign it to and select the item while in the inventory screen. You are able to assign 1-8. The pipboy is the only way to access the map.

2: You can sell items to anyone you can buy from, but you might want to save some of your "junk" because you never know what might come in handy for building weapons/ammo/stims.

3: Unfortunately there is no visual clue as to what is a main plot quest or sidequest, but once you play through a bit more you should be able to identify them by description.

4: Steal, loot bodies, steal, trade, steal.

5: Do not pass up the sidequests, there are some good weapons and story to be had. You can learn more about Vault-tec and their different "social experiments". You might check for some good mods too, the enhanced texture pack is nice, but needs some decent hardware to truly enjoy it.

If you really like Fallout 3 I highly recommend checking out New Vegas, and of course playing the first 2 games.

The early enemies shouldn't be too difficult, but you also need to hone your skills. At the very least I would start your first attack on a guy while sneaking so that you get a critical hit. If you are a melee-based guy i'd still try and get a few shots in with a gun and then switch to your beatin stick of choice. Stealth is key tho imo. Oh, and go for the head whenever possible and make use of VATS for some "free" damage.

I believe there is a vendor outside of megaton and there is also a store inside. If it is closed then you need to wait until "working hours" as the game functions alot like real life. The people come and go to work, sleep, eat, etc.

You'll get most of your weaps off of the enemies you kill. I would keep as many as possible because having ammo for just one or two is rather difficult.

All the "junk", and I mean ALL, can be used to craft something at some point. You just need to decide if you want to spend the time, and inventory weight, to pursue such things. For me, I just waited till i found a recipe that i liked, then i started to collect things for that specifically. Or you can just keep the stuff that seems rare and sell the rest. You'll figure that out more as you go.

The main quest line is what took you to megaton, and then whatever quest you got when you completed that is next, and so on. Everything else should be side quests. You shouldn't have trouble remembering what's what. And as mentioned, do the side quests, and I would do them before the main quest so that you can get stronger for the main quest and so that you dont' lose interest once you beat it. (oh and save the game somewhere good when you know you are approaching the end cause once you finish it it ends and you may have other quests to do.

Google Fallout 3 wiki. There you can find great tips, hints, quest walkthroughs, weapon, armor, and special items stats. There are "named" wepons you can find throughout the game from police batons to gatling lazors to alien blasters. The wiki will tell you the location of these. One of my favorite weapons is Licoln's repeater. Not the best rate of fire but does massive critial headshot damage.

Also, when you are in the pipboy the game is effectively paused, so you're safe.

There are a ton of Quests in Megaton. I'd suggest finishing most of those then moving onto the rest of the main quest. In order to get to the radio station you will also need to learn to use the subway. Personally, they were a pain and I didnt find 3dog till my 3rd play through.

One last thing, Fallout 3 is a much better experience if you dont just powerquest through everything. Take some time exploring. If you just beat the main quest, you wont even see the top 1/3 of the map. the main quest is good, but the entire game is great.