First off I have gotten the game working again; one of the Steam users managed to find the mod I needed, something about a Graphics Bypass. I have a few other things like FOSE and the Anniversary Patcher in there which may or may not cause issues later, but for now the game is working, albeit looking a little different.
You are right that the German Low Gore version is not the one I had (although I didn't have blood splashes on normal hits before and I do now; I'm guessing if I poked around in the graphics settings I'd find out why it's different, as I was changed from High Quality to Medium and there may have been other alterations). I do still think the change seems unnecessary, and I'm annoyed that it ever happened, but what's done is done.
I do think the bad advice from assuming I have more than I do was a common issue with people answering on Steam; they also couldn't figure out that I couldn't post replies to my topics because I don't have Steam Guard (and never will; it's Orwellian crap that has no business existing). I'm glad the whole thing is behind me for now.
When I click on Steam's Fallout 3 link (either on the website or on my desktop), a window pops up that contains the options "Play", "Data Files", "Graphics Settings", and a couple others I never use. I used the Data Files to turn on the Pitt and Zeta expansions when I was bored with the base game, and the rest of the time I just press Play; this then launches the actual game, which loads for several seconds before reaching the menu, from which I can actually launch a New Game or Load an existing file. But in between those steps, Windows 11 has a window that says "Do you want to let this executable file run? Executable files can harm your computer" (not an exact quote). If I click "no", the game doesn't launch; I have to pick "yes" in order to get the game to play. I can't recall whether this has stopped happening since I did the graphics bypass.
I am a developer myself and do flutter development. This allows me to develop different applications without difficulty. I also sometimes make different mods for games.
It can be frustrating dealing with unexpected changes and bad advice, especially when it comes to something as intricate as modding games.
As for your issue with Windows 11's security prompts, it's a common feature designed to protect users from potentially harmful files. It's good practice to ensure that all your software, especially mods and patches, are from trusted sources. If the prompts have become less frequent since implementing the graphics bypass, it might have resolved some underlying compatibility issues as well.
Fallout 3 - Update Broke My Game, Need Help Fixing
in PC Gaming
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It can be frustrating dealing with unexpected changes and bad advice, especially when it comes to something as intricate as modding games.
As for your issue with Windows 11's security prompts, it's a common feature designed to protect users from potentially harmful files. It's good practice to ensure that all your software, especially mods and patches, are from trusted sources. If the prompts have become less frequent since implementing the graphics bypass, it might have resolved some underlying compatibility issues as well.