I was somehow under the impression that Fallout 2 had no imposed time limit in which to complete the game. So here I am, power-gaming, and trying to build up my player, and I get an interruption screen reading "The End." Then the game literally just ends and kicks me back to the title screen.
Ugh....
Is there a mod to take this out or something? Because I just invested so much time into this game, wanting to take my sweet ass time to beat it, and now I'm screwed. (Don't make me go back to Baldur's Gate...)
-thanks.

I wasn't aware of any time limit on the second game. Can anyone else confirm this?

I believe i the fallout bible is something about this , and if i remember right there is a hardcoded time limit of several years.

Yes, there is 13 years timelimit hardcoded in the Fallout 2 engine. Try using this tweak - http://timeslip.chorrol.com/sfall.html. It says that one of its features is "Adjust or remove the 13 year time limit". I didn't try this on Fallout 2, but Fallout 1 version is working fine even with my old saves. So good luck!

How did you spend 13 years just walking and didn't stumble into a geck?

well, the GECK isn't the ending of the game.

Good point. But still, 13 years is just too much...

I'm wondering that myself...13 years, haven't you maxed out your level by like, the fifth year if not much sooner? Or at least I would think so...

also, there's really no need to wait to finish the game -- fallout 2 provides the player with the option to continue playing after beating the game.

Well, I have to admit that I've been using Fallout 2 as a backdrop while listening to music (my number one love). But I love the game as well, no question. So sometimes I lose myself in what I'm listening to and I'm just wandering the desert waiting for random encounters and earning (usually) cheap experience. I think that my kill log has over 300 radscorps killed. So it's easy to lose lots of time when playing this way. Problem is that I wouldn't have gone with this style had I known that the game has a 13yr time limit!
When do you max out on levels? I was around level 23, I think.

Thanks for the link. I tried this tweak and I have no idea if it removed the time cap, but it makes it so that the limit will virtually never be reached as it seems to have upped the potential to have random encounters for every step you take on the map!
I remember getting really into the Baldur's Gate series again not that long ago, and I decided to mod it as much as I could. The headaches from all the issues that came up lead me to believe that modding is not for the timid.

Modding games, especially the wonderful Baldur's Gate series, is totally worth it. Its also a snap with the WEIDU system they have in place, you just have to put some thought into what you're installing to avoid conflicts.
More on topic, I guess I can see how you might rack up 13 years with all that traveling...

Wandering and killing animals and bandits as stress reliever... That might actually work :)
Hope you're melee, must be pretty costy to kill everything using ammo. And for the encounters, maybe it's just [bad] luck... Level Outdoorsman a bit to walk around with less encounters.

The level limit is 50 Actualy in Fallout 2 you have a endless supply of ammo once you reach San Francisco , stealing back your money after you bought anything from vendors there , is the way. :)