Modding Basics One

[Site Bot]

Article link: Modding Basics One

 

You can skip straight to the tutorial if you don't wanna read my lil' blurb about why it exists.

 

Thanks to Lhammonds I've been able to tweak this tutorial into an interactive document. His awesome tutorial, which further explains some of the concepts here, can be found:

 

Installing Mods

 

 

Back in the days of modding TESIV Oblivion I joined a Facebook group focused around that game. This group, I quickly realized, had very little clue about Modding. Most of the members didn't even know a mod community existed. For shame.

 

I took it upon myself to write a detailed, multi-part tutorial on the WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN and WHY of modding Oblivion. I don't know exactly how well the tutorial faired with the members but let's just say that the posted screenshots seemed to improve significantly.

 

Recently I joined a similar Facebook group associated with Fallout 3. Very quickly I noticed the same phenomenon as with the previous group. No notice about new mods, nothing discussed in the forum and certainly no sponsorship of our exalted NEXUS.

 

I again took it upon myself to post a tutorial about modding to this group.

 

The first reply to which was; "i wish u could down load mods for the ps3 version to"

 

So I had a chuckle at that.

 

It never occurred to me to post these articles on NEXUS. I assumed that here we're all pro's. If one really starts to examine the site details though, you find that a lot members are quite novice, and could use a lil' hand.

 

 

[Tutorial]

 

This was first written as a basic mod-user tutorial for TESIV. Since Fallout 3 uses the same tools, I've merely edited the names for clarity. Notes and links have been placed within the document for ease of use.

 

Many people ask if it is safe to Mod Fallout 3. The blanket answer is YES. Not all mods are perfect, mind you. Some may conflict and corrupt your save game file. Most(of the good ones) can still mess up your game just because of conflicts with other mods or user error (that's you).

 

That said, many mods are simple to install, user friendly and beautiful.

 

It should be known that you CAN NOT break your Game with Mods. What you create or download goes OVER-TOP of the installed game. If you remove a Mod, the game knows to go back to it's original form. However it is possible to ruin a save-game.

 

And it's possible for Mods to conflict/over-write one another.

 

You are your own greatest enemy in this pursuit. It's advised you stay confident and organized about your task.

 

Modding Fallout 3 can become a lot of work. To save yourself some headaches later become familiar with these things first:

 

The Fallout 3 .INI: A configuration file located in your MyGames/Fallout 3 directory. You'll use this sooner or later and since Bethesda knew you'd break it, they put a back up in your install directory.

 

More info on the .ini can be found here:

TweakGuides

 

Saves: This folder contains your save games and is located in the My Games/Fallout 3 folder.

 

Install Directory: Where the game lives on your Hard-Drive. The default path is ProgramFiles/BethesdaSoftworks/Fallout 3. All the game information is within this folder. Most Mods will require you to add or remove something from here.

 

Data Folder: One of the most important folders in you Install Directory, contains all the textures, meshes, music, icons, ect. that make up the game world. If you are modding in any capacity you'll need to be intimately familiar with this folder.

 

Question: Can I skip the above step because it's stupid?

Answer: No. This is the most important part.

 

Now we're all prepared for Modding. Fun-Time, right?

 

Not just yet.

 

You'll also need some utilities to make most of the mods work. This is REQUIRED.

 

Fallout 3 Mod Manager: This utility lets you easily organize your mods.

 

FOMM

 

Fallout 3 Script Extender (FOSE): Adds to the game script functions. This one will replace the file/icon you use to launch Fallout 3 and add several files to the Fallout 3 directory.

 

FOSE

 

Archive Invalidation Invalidated

Tells the game to Invalidate older files.

 

Archive Invalidation Invalidated

 

Finally, if you're as smart as you think you are. . .

 

The G.E.C.K construction set is easy to download and install - not so easy to use. But once you've become accustomed to it you may find that downloadin' Mods is useless when you could just design your own.

 

GECK

 

Keep these things in mind:

 

Create back-ups (it's a hassle but it'll save you weeping later 'cause your character looks like a giant exclamation point!)

 

Read the ReadMe files (several times if required).

 

Make sure you have multiple saves (incase one gets irreparably damaged).

 

Create 'clean saves'.

 

DON'T GIVE UP!

 

When it's broken, re-read the ReadMe and look at the directories we discussed before. Most times (if you're keen enough to have made it this far) you'll be able to figure out the problem and fix it.

 

So you've read the above section, installed the REQUIRED mods and you're still achin' for more?

 

Good.

 

Six simple questions will lead us to enlightenment. Who, What, Where, When, Why and How.

 

WHO creates these mods?

 

Normal people do, just like you and I. Some of the modding community have professional backgrounds or work in the games industry but most are amateurs. Others are just hardcore Modders who've bought this game (and likely several others) just to mod - that is, they may never PLAY the games. Many of these modders have software that you may not. Programs like 3D Studio Max and Bink are not included with Fallout 3 but may be required depending on what your mod will include. You'll find, after reading a dozen or so readme files, that most of the modders are intelligent, modest and delightful. Place a comment on their download page to advise them thus. Ratings are also a good way to endorse quality work. These designers can't meet needs that aren't being expressed.

 

You've likely said "Oh, I wish that they (Bethesda in this case) had done (something different) in this (area, building, quest)!"

 

Or "That character looks cool but imagine if. . ."

 

Well, Hell-Yeah!

 

Place your dream Mod ideas on NEXUS and if it's good someone will run with

it.

 

WHAT are some mods that are worth installing?

 

Let's take a quick Technical Break, first.

 

LOAD ORDER: After you've installed the Fallout 3 Mod Manager (FMM) you'll no longer have to use the default Launcher to check your .ESM and .ESP files

(The bread and butter of all mods). Instead, you'll be doing this process in FMM. This utility will also allow you to change the LOAD ORDER of the mods which will sometimes help resolve problems with Mods containing conflicting

content.

 

Take a few minutes, look at your FMM and see what the current Load Order is. Notice the Fallout 3.esm is first - that's the master file and cannot be

precluded by any other.

 

Now that we know about Load Order and (hopefully) .esm and .esp files, let's look at a list of LINKS.

 

WHERE can I find these mods?

 

Fallout 3 Nexus

 

You'll almost always end up downloadin' from Fallout 3 NEXUS. For some of the larger files you may need a user ID and Password, don't complain, just do it. I've found that when browsing NEXUS it's best to utilize thier advanced search options and result filters. Some Mods are available from the Author's web-site.

 

WHEN should I install mods?

 

Right now! Take care though, many Mods are released in several bits and versions. Make sure you're downloadin' the LATEST version of the mod and that you've already got the prerequisites installed.

 

WHY do I even care about all this, especially if it'll break my game?

 

Out of the box Fallout 3 is a great game. It can provide hundreds of hours of entertainment and spark creativity. That said, it's not perfect, and some things just seem downright silly. Mods can often fix what's weird or in the case of the (Disappearing Characters bug) just plain broken. Other times mods just expand and improve the game elements we already love. Remember, if the Mod breaks your game, but seems popular on the website, it's likely your fault and not the Mod Authors.

 

HOW do I install mods?

 

Read the readme file. Usually you'll need to extract (install) to the Fallout 3 Data Directory, that's the guts of the game.

 

HOW do I create mods?

 

With the G.E.C.K. Construction SET (link above). Also, some MOD-LIKE effects can be created just by tweakin' your Fallout 3 .INI file.

 

Example: If you change the line in you .INI

bEnableBorderRegion=1

to

bEnableBorderRegion=0

 

You'll be able to travel OUTSIDE the game borders into the other areas. There isn't much out there but it's premium real-estate for modding.

 

If you're interested there is much more information available from: Tweak Guides

 

I hope you've found this article to be helpful. If you have any question or if you feel I should include additional information please feel free to leave a comment.

[LHammonds]

Nice overview. As more tutorials are created for Fallout 3, we should be able to make better comprehensive overviews that link these tutorials together. Example: How To Make Mods (Oblivion)

 

You may, or may not want to link to existing tutorial that cover topics in more detail such as How To Install Mods to start moving this overview into a link-master of sorts. ;)

 

Congrats on the tutorial. I hope to see more.

 

LHammonds

[ponos]

I know this isnt a help furom but you seem to know what you're doing.......If i have multiple mods that rely on having a textures and meshes folder in the data folder along with them....will changing said texture or meshes folders name affect whether or not they load? If so is there a way around this? Either send me a message or please email me at [email protected].

Thanks!! :)

[dwizzle69]

I think it would be a good idea to include WryeFlash in this list. http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=11336