KresoX

So I got me something that's quite a good monitor actually (Asus ROG Strix XG27AQ, 27", IPS panel etc.) thinking that it will be an awesome upgrade from my decade-old monitor that started flickering when warming up (Samsung SyncMaster 226BW, 22", TN panel). I am aware that there are different panels, each with their own strengths and weaknesses, but I figured a hi-end year 2021 monitor -- no matter what panel -- will beat a 2010-ish monitor easily. Well, I was horribly wrong. What reviews -- and I did go through lots of them -- mention only shyly and without going into any kind of useful details, is that an IPS monitor is an absolutely UNACCEPTABLE solution if you're playing (1) at night and (2) a game with lots of very dark scenes. Well, that's PRECISELY how I play Fallout games -- at night (or evening, anyway, when there's least light coming from outside) and with one of those "darker nights" mods, both for maximum immersion. So I've installed FONV after a few years, to enjoy a new playthrough on a newly built PC and new monitor, only to discover that when the in-game night comes (using Nevada Skies in this particular case), the panel glow (the so called "IPS glow" and "bleeding") is so strong and distracting that the game is unplayable. I went through absolutely all monitor settings but even with the brightness at 0 % it's still so strong that what's supposed to be a dark corner is a source of ugly grayish backlight. No setting can help that, it seems. This is a great monitor, but if you're using it during the day, with brightness at high levels and for a content that's completely colorful, i.e. with no significant black or dark scenes or object. That's NOT how I can play neither Fallout nor Skyrim. In short, an IPS monitor + Fallout/Skyrim + any kind of dark nights mod = utter disaster. I'm still playing with settings but I'm not so optimistic about this. Rant over :-)

I've noticed I've got something odd happening lately. In, like, 5 or 6 mods I recently tried, the initially dead NPCs (you know, the regular stuff, when you're supposed to find a note on a dead body) simply do not appear where they're supposed to be. Various objects from those very mods do appear - like clutter, weapons, buildings, you name it - but not the NPCs. At first I thought it's something in those few mods themselves so I ignored it, but now it's just too weird and too obvious to ignore, and of course a bit irritating as it prevents me from playing some interesting mods. Something is definitely messed up in my game but I have no idea what. Please note I'm not listing details such as load order because I'm not looking for troubleshooting, I'm looking for someone who had this exact issue and knows a solution.

Yes, that's one of those amazing (let's put it mildly...) features of FO3. I've had it for a _very_ long time whenever I'd approach Megaton entrance from the direction of the Super-Duper mart. Basically I learned precisely where was the critical area and I'd perform the self-nuking a few steps before reaching it; after that, I'd be able to proceed without experiencing the ctd. And then it suddenly just stopped, for no apparent reason. For the whole time I was doing the main quest and a number of mods simultaneously so who knows which mod (I guess?) may have tweaked something to stop the crashing. Completely. So basically if it happens only in one or two spots, then I can only give you this relatively silly advice to endure and it _might_ go away. I dug and dug through Internet but couldn't find a proper solution when it was giving me hard time...

"The best" as in: - custom voice (not "borrowing" vanilla voice), number of lines, chatter, contextual comments depending on situation or location etc. - most features (e.g. crouching, taking out weapon when player does, sleeping/relaxing scheduled/when told, able to change clothes, able to change weapons etc.) I'm not referring so much to physical appearance or details such as number of apparels or hairstyles, though it does play a certain role, of course. The thing is that, what I guess (I repeat: I guess) most people who played FO3 _after_ FNV noticed, that FO3's companions are WAY simpler than FNV's. In other words, Delilah, Niner or Vanessa (the New Vegas one) are much more advanced than anything I've seen in FO3 so far. The similar goes for vanilla companions. Now, I do realize that FO3 is an older game and thus has its limitations, but where does this huge difference in modder-created companions come from? I can put it in a purely opportunistic way too; I'm currently playing with RicherHK's Brisa Almodovar - is there a better companion than her, and why? :-)

Interesting. Well, it depends on your idea of fun :-) Once I set up various aspects of my game (mods related to gameplay, graphics, weather, stability and such) I'd say that 99% of fun that I personally get comes from various quest mods, and Nexus has got tons and tons of those. From widely known epic ones, to hidden gems with just a few comments and endorsements. If I know that a quest mod is big then I tend to play only that one quest mod at the time, and if I find several smaller ones I tend to play 2 or 3 simultaneously - it keep me busy and makes things fun. Also, lots of mods have some kind of permanent value even after you finish the main quest, e.g. they contain a weapon or an apparel you get used to, or they make a good and permanent enhancement of the Wasteland in terms of an outpost or a vendor or any kind of an otherwise interesting NPC. It makes the Wasteland an interesting place and reduces boredom to minimum (I especially appreciate it because I play with fast traveling turned off). In short - quest mods. I can't imagine playing a quest (be it vanilla or from a quest mod) more than once, I'd find it extremely boring. In other words, as long as there are quest mods out there, I'm playing. And whenever I think that my FO3 times are coming to an end, I discover another batch of quest mods...

Ok, the issue healed on its own :-) A quest mod took me to the GNR building so I tested exiting to Chevy Chase and the result was as expected, a ctd. The same mod then took me to some other location, and while I was on my way I was passing through Metro Junction where there's another exit to Chevy Chase. So I said to myself: ok, let's give it a go. And, to my utter surprise, I successfully entered Chevy Chase. From that point on, _everything_ has been working well - I can go entering and leaving Chevy Chase as I please, no matter which direction and no matter how many times. Strange, eh? The only relatively strange thing I found on Chevy Chase was something that seemed to me like a little bit too much enemies than usual; there were 10 or more supermutants (and their abominated pets) there where exits to metros are located, and the same amount in and around that school in front of GNR entrance. By the school I was even attacked by two supermutant behemoths at the same time, which is something that I don't think I've ever seen before. Plus, two unrelated mods had their corpses in Chevy Chase as well. I haven't touched my MMM settings for months and haven't got any other mod that would (at least to my knowledge) influence the extra spawns, but that - the large amount of NPCs - is the only detail that strikes me as a bit odd about the whole story. Well, at least in the meantime I've learned the basics of FO3Edit by checking for conflicts on Chevy Chase (none, btw.) and also by getting one crucial item from a corpse lying there (from the times I couldn't reach the location and I needed the item to move on with the quest). So everything bad for something good, I guess :-) I haven't had the opportunity to see what happens when I switch for a better graphics card because it still hasn't arrived. Anyway, problem solved. Dumb luck but I won't be picky :-) Shadyfan4500, pixelhate, I thank you both for your comments and advices, they're highly appreciated.

Thank you both for your suggestions, that was really quick - I wasn't expecting feedback so quickly so I'm pleasantly surprised :-) Yep, I've been playing on a PC and have already applied the most common anti-crash/anti-stutter tweaks out there (ini tweaks, enabling 4GB, stutter remover, no auto/quicksaving...) months ago, while all the time being quite careful about reading each new mod's Desc and Posts to check out for known issues, conflicts etc. My current load order is 177 active plugins and 140 active mods and everything works just fine. Except for this Chevy Chase thing, that is. -I'll first try if a new GPU helps. I'm currently using an old and heavily overclocked GTX 460, but my new GTX 1050 Ti is already on its way so we'll see if it helps. I doubt, but we'll see. -If that doesn't work, I'll definitely try the above procedure with xEdit (something I never tried before; my "expertise" starts and ends with NMM), so again thanks for that advice. I'll provide an update after trying all this.

I've been playing a single FO3 playthrough for months now without any issues in Chevy Chase, passing through it relatively frequently, but several days ago I noticed that I'm suddenly getting an instant ctd when trying to enter it, no matter from what direction (from a metro station, from within GNR, doesn't matter). The rest of my Wasteland is ok, I get what one might call a regular amount of various ctds but they're random and infrequent - a normal FO3 feature - while this Chevy Chase issue means a ctd in 100 % of cases. Please note that I did read the "How to ask for help" instructions but I haven't provided the requested hw/config/game/paths/mods details because I'm _not_ looking for troubleshooting, I'm looking for a person that might have had this exact problem in this exact location. I hope the admin(s) won't mind such approach. So, has anyone else had Chevy Chase ctds and how did you solve it?

You saved my nerves :D Thx!