algaeb

Hi, I'm trying to find a good technical description of what the difference is, so I can understand when and why it's helpful to do a Master Update. I'd appreciate if someone could tell me how much of this page applies to FO3: http://cs.elderscrolls.com/constwiki/index.php/Esp_vs._Esm For example, is the following true for FO3 or just for the Elder Scrolls? Esm/Esm Land Bug When one esm modifies in any way a worldspace cell of another esm, the land bug occurs in gameplay. The land bug is where the local land textures (and often static buildings, etc.) disappear in gameplay. This happens not just in a few isolated spots, but typically everywhere. Thanks.

I have done, I use my own modified version of hairylegs' error corrections mod - though I wasn't aware that any of the errors it fixes led to reproducible crashes, or symptoms/crashes of the type that the OP specified. I haven't seen any proper explanations with examples/references/etc as to how or why this is beneficial. Well that's good (my experience has been that it doesn't affect stability at all, positive or negative), but it isn't such a good idea to suggest to add something that isn't directly relevant to the OP's problem, and could potentially make it worse. Best to leave that til after the problem is solved, where it could well be as useful to the OP as it is to you. :) Interesting, and good point.

Hadn't seen the V-Tec stuff before. Thanks. The belt strap version is close to what I want, but I'd like it better if the pack itself looked like it was made of a softer material - not quite so square.

I'm looking for satchels and other similar items that can be worn to increase carry weight while providing a logical reason for that increase. By Googling "fallout 3 satchel" I found one which was ripped from FOOK2, but is incomplete (no textures or object effect included) and also too "tight" (straps clip through worn clothing). I also noticed one in "Wanderer Gear and Mufflers" which is unfortunately no longer available on the Nexus: http://mourningcard.blog23.fc2.com/blog-entry-80.html I've looked at Blackwolf's Backpacks and Better Balanced Backpacks (http://fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=14994) but I don't like how the backpacks look when you wear a rifle and a backpack together: the rifle seems to just stick through it. The smallest variant (bum pack) is an option, but it looks odd to me without straps and I don't like the position. I'd like to have something that rides at the waist (somewhere other than the weapon holster location at the right hip), and perhaps to reduce sizing issues it could use a belt strap (or visible stitching to attach it to fabric) instead of an over-the-shoulder strap. Is there anything like that available? Thanks!

What crashes does that fix? Have a look in FO3Edit. It's a combination of fixes for some of the errors and omissions (like missing references, missing light templates, missing object bounds, etc.) in the original Fallout3 and DLC ESMs, as well as a removal of many of the invisible walls (replacing them with navmesh changes for the NPCs the walls were intended to block). I'm not sure to what extent the latter changes increase stability. There are also some identical-to-master cell/worldspace overrides to counteract overrides in mods that haven't been cleaned properly. These can be removed, or compatibility patches placed after it, for intentional overrides. Overall, my experience has been that I can play much longer without a CTD when using this than without it.

Try picking up the Fallout 3 Master Fix and sticking it at the bottom of your load order: http://fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=16665 Also, try going to an interior cell and waiting for 72 hours.

The "evil ctd" made me laugh. Thanks. I've had plenty of CTD issues with my (heavily modded) game, and some of them have just been caused by trying to load too much at once. If you're running on a 32-bit system like me (I really need to upgrade to Win 7), you're much more likely to run into limits and this causes instability and eventually "random" crashes. Some basic troubleshooting steps I use are: disable mods I suspect are responsible, try turning off sound (bEnableAudio = 0 in Fallout.ini), try turning down graphics settings (especially textures), and always use FO3Edit on every mod to check for conflicts and resolve them. Just creating a "merged patch" in FO3Edit isn't enough, in my experience. Also, I highly recommend using the Fallout 3 Master Fix - http://fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=16665 - it will definitely prevent a lot of crashes.

Disabling Games for Windows Live can help too. http://fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=1086

I installed Nifskope and removed that HeadAnims:0 block and tried it on Brisa again, and the CTD is gone. Thanks so much!

I enabled a few more mods and started getting the same white/flickering textures issue I had before. This time, though, instead of searching for fixes related to that issue, I searched for "mod limits" and found this thread: http://www.thenexusforums.com/index.php?/topic/137862-mod-limit/ Following the ideas in that thread, I merged some of my smaller patch mods together and reduced my total mod count to 89 (hex) and so far the textures seem to be working properly again. Worth noting that I'm playing in Windows XP 32-bit and without the large-address-enabler because whenever I use it my game slows down to a crawl. Still getting a CTD when I try to talk to NPCs who are wearing the MZC armor or open the Pip-boy while facing Brisa wearing it (facing away from her and opening the Pip-boy works fine).

Thanks for your reply, rickerhk. I'm sure you'll enjoy MZC. I've checked other custom armors from MZC - they work fine. I've tried activating Brisa wearing the armor with my pipboy light off in almost total darkness (Fellout night), and it still crashes. I'm very puzzled because this armor worked fine until I reinstalled my game, and now it's consistently causing a CTD when I activate NPCs wearing it... but it's only this armor, and it looks fine when they're wearing it. What exactly happens when I start a conversation with an NPC that would expose some flaw in a mesh that isn't already exposed from simply wearing it? Zooming in? Of note, I put the armor on a raider, made it friendly and activated it, without a CTD. The raider doesn't have any dialogue, though. Does this suggest anything to you? Here's another finding: if I bring up the Pip-boy while looking at Brisa wearing the armor, it also CTDs.

Hello, I've been trying to figure this one out on my own for several hours and I'm well beyond the limits of my knowledge now, so help would be appreciated. Briefly: I'm getting consistent CTDs when I Activate an NPC while she's wearing a custom armor, before it even zooms in to start dialogue. There's no CTD just from her wearing the armor, though, and it looks fine while she's wearing it. Removing the model from the armor in FO3Edit prevents the CTD. Removing the armor from her (using console) also prevents the CTD. Longer story: I'm using Mothership Zeta Crew (MZC) with rickerhk's Brisa Almodovar companion, and I've outfitted Brisa with a "Thunderfist" armor from MZC. I had been playing with Brisa wearing that armor for several days already without any issues, but in my last play session I started seeing the dreaded "white/flickering textures" issue. I spent some time toggling ArchiveInvalidationInvalidated! using FOMM, or manually, but the texture issue wasn't going away, and after searching for other solutions for an hour or so I gave up and reinstalled the game and my mods from scratch. Speculation: I had a lot of mods active... maybe I had so much data being loaded that I was overflowing some internal buffers? I remember seeing a comment somewhere on these forums about instability if loading more than 2GB of game data. In any case, I reinstalled, taking the opportunity to weed out a handful of mods that I didn't feel were "essential" - and loaded up my game again. Textures were fixed. Brisa was still wearing that MZC armor, and all seemed fine. I played for a bit, shot up some raiders, etc... and then tried to activate (talk to) Brisa... and got a CTD immediately, before it even zoomed in on her or displayed the dialogue menu. I reloaded my save, tried to activate her again, and got another CTD. If I disable the Mothership Zeta Crew ESM, no CTD. I narrowed it down further to the armor she's wearing, by un-equipping it from her (using the console) and then talking to her - no CTD. There doesn't seem to be any issue with the armor when she's wearing it, though... it looks normal... the CTD is just when I activate her while she's wearing it. I even tried deleting the models from the armor in FO3Edit... and if I load the game that way, she looks like a floating head and hands while wearing the armor, but there's no CTD when I talk to her. I have a few more things to try, like putting other armor on her, or putting that armor on another NPC (or my own character), but I'd love to hear any thoughts on what could be happening here. Update: No issues with vanilla armors on her. No issues with wearing the custom armor on my character and talking to her when she's not wearing it. Same crash occurs with Moira if equipped with that armor. Thanks!

Others may know simpler methods, but: To get a particular face out of a certain ESP/ESM, the simplest method I can think of is to use FO3Edit to find the NPC's entry in the ESP/ESM, and modify the "Flags" under ACBS - Configuration to enable the "Is CharGen Face Preset" option. This will make the face show up as one of the presets in the face changing menu (which you can access for your character using the "showracemenu" console command: hit your console key [tilde ~ by default], type "showracemenu", hit Enter, and hit the console key again). However, you will only be able to select the face if the Race of the NPC is the same as the Race of your character, so check the RNAM - Race setting of the NPC and change it to your character's current Race. Remember that changing your own character's Race will reset its perks, so that isn't ideal. Better to change the NPC temporarily (change it back and remove the flag after you're done). Once you have a saved game where your character has a face you want, you can transfer it to another saved game with this utility: FaceGen Exchanger - http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=4094