Having some major trouble making the wasteland dark

[QuickDEMOL1SHER]

Having just recently installed Fallout 3 on my new computer, I proceeded to install a fair number of mods of varying sizes and effects.

 

One of the most important to me, was F3ProjectRealityMk1. I absolutely loved it as, in addition to other great effects, it made the nights extremely dark to the point of wanting to find shelter after 8 PM.

 

In a flash of stupidity, I installed the Enhanced Shaders mod SOMEHOW thinking these wouldn't conflict. They, and others, did. The whole game was made bright, the sky turned pink at all times and many of my weapon textures were broken. I uninstalled Enhanced Shaders and re-installed Project Reality Mk1, fixing most of the problems.

 

However, for some reason night time in the wasteland has almost vanilla levels of light.

 

Megaton is very, very dark, as pictured:

 

http://i1223.photobucket.com/albums/dd509/QuickDEMOL1SHER/Untitled-2.png

 

However, the wasteland looks like THIS at the same time of night:

 

http://i1223.photobucket.com/albums/dd509/QuickDEMOL1SHER/Uewntitled.png

 

This is a big difference to me, which kind of breaks the immersion. If there's nothing that can be done, it's easy enough to live with, but I figured I should ask before giving up.

I tried installing Darker Nights Beta and putting it at the bottom of my load order, but nothing changed. I also tried playing with the "Dark Wasteland" settings in Project Reality Mk1, but it didn't seem to do much of anything. I'm not using any filters for the Imaginator or Cinematech.

 

I may be completely stupid and the solution is simple, but I can't understand why this is the way it is. All I want is wasteland nights as dark as the picture of Megaton.

 

Here's my load order just in case it helps. Everything other than this lighting is working quite well.

Fallout3.esm [x]
Anchorage.esm [x]
ThePitt.esm [x]
BrokenSteel.esm [x]
PointLookout.esm [x]
Zeta.esm [x]
FNNsys.esm [x]
aHUD.esm [x]
iHUD.esm [x]
CINEMATECH.esm [x]
CRAFT.esm [x]
CALIBR.esm [x]
Project Beauty.esm [x]
NecronomiconExMortis 5.6.esm [x]
EVE.esm [x]
FO3 Wanderers Edition - Main File.esm [x]
Mart's Mutant Mod.esm [x]
JHBCloverPlus.esm [x]
DCInteriors_ComboEdition.esm [x]
FNNCQ.esm [x]
FO3 Wanderers Edition - Alternate Travel.esp [x]
Sydney Follower.esp [x]
ImaginatorFO3.esp [x]
DarNifiedUIF3.esp [x]
Project Beauty- Broken Steel.esp [x]
Project Beauty- Point Lookout.esp [x]
DelayAnchorage.esp [x]
DelayThePitt.esp [x]
DelaySteel.esp [x]
delaypl.esp [x]
delayzeta.esp [x]
Delay ThePitt + Anchorage.esp [x]
GNR Enhanced.esp [x]
RadioTenpenny.esp [x]
CONELRAD 640-1240.esp [x]
UPP - Pack 1.esp [x]
UPP - Pack 2.esp [x]
UPP - Experience Perks.esp [x]
UPP - Quest Perks.esp [x]
WastelandMastery.esp [x]
FO3 Wanderers Edition - Main File.esp [x]
FO3 Wanderers Edition - DLC Anchorage.esp [x]
FO3 Wanderers Edition - DLC The Pitt.esp [x]
FO3 Wanderers Edition - DLC Broken Steel.esp [x]
FO3 Wanderers Edition - DLC Point Lookout.esp [x]
FO3 Wanderers Edition - DLC Mothership Zeta.esp [x]
FO3 Wanderers Edition - Followers Enhanced (BrokenSteel).esp [x]
FO3 Wanderers Edition - Optional Restore Tracers.esp [ ]
FO3 Wanderers Edition - Optional Restore Tracers (automatics only).esp [x]
FO3 Wanderers Edition - Project Beauty.esp [x]
FO3 Wanderers Edition - Project Beauty (Followers Enhanced).esp [x]
WeaponModKits.esp [x]
WeaponModKits - FWE Master Release.esp [x]
WeaponModKits - OperationAnchorage.esp [x]
WeaponModKits - ThePitt.esp [x]
WeaponModKits - BrokenSteel.esp [x]
WeaponModKits - PointLookout.esp [x]
WeaponModKits - Zeta.esp [x]
Dogmeat Leather Armor - CRAFT.esp [x]
JHB House Robots Can Repair.esp [x]
EVE.esp [x]
EVE Operation Anchorage.esp [x]
EVE - FWE Master Release.esp [x]
EVE - FWE Master Release (Follower Enhanced).esp [x]
EVE - FWE Master Release (pulse fix).esp [x]
EVE Anchorage - FWE DLC Anchorage.esp [x]
EVE - FWE with WeaponModKits.esp [x]
Mart's Mutant Mod.esp [x]
Mart's Mutant Mod - DLC Anchorage.esp [x]
Mart's Mutant Mod - DLC The Pitt.esp [x]
Mart's Mutant Mod - DLC Broken Steel.esp [x]
Mart's Mutant Mod - DLC Point Lookout.esp [x]
Mart's Mutant Mod - DLC Zeta.esp [x]
Mart's Mutant Mod - Zones Respawn.esp [ ]
Mart's Mutant Mod - Tougher Traders.esp [ ]
Mart's Mutant Mod - Natural Selection.esp [ ]
Mart's Mutant Mod - Master Menu Module.esp [x]
Mart's Mutant Mod - Project Beauty.esp [x]
Mart's Mutant Mod - FWE Master Release.esp [ ]
Mart's Mutant Mod - FWE Master Release + DLCs.esp [x]
Mart's Mutant Mod - FWE Master Release + Project Beauty.esp [x]
NoKarmaCheckToBuyClover.esp [x]
Sydney Follower - FWE Dialog Fix.esp [x]
F3ProjectRealityMkI.esp [x]
FNNsys - FWE.esp [x]
JHBCloverPlusOverride.esp [x]
Sydney Follower - Load Order Fix.esp [x]
DYNAVISION - Dynamic Lens Effect.esp [x]
Directors Chair - Fallout 3.esp [x]
TUPAM.esp [x]
TUPAM - Broken Steel Addon.esp [x]
TUPAM - The Pitt Addon.esp [x]
TUPAM - Anchorage Addon.esp [x]
RealFragGrenade3.esp [x]
TUPAM+FOOK - The Pitt Addon.esp [ ]
TUPAM+FOOK.esp [ ]
TUPAM+FOOK - Broken Steel Addon.esp [ ]
TUPAM+FOOK - Anchorage Addon.esp [ ]
DIM TYPE3clothesRETAIL.esp [ ]
DarkNights-Darker.esp [x]

Again, I'm probably doing something really, really dumb and obvious like I usually do, but still.

 

Any input, help, suggestions etc. is greatly appreciated.

[pkleiss]

I don't know if this will help, but here's my 2 cents...

 

Some mods install files into the \Data folder substructure. The way the game works, it looks for these files first before looking for them in the BSA files. Files within the BSA are structured identical to the \Data substructure. If one of your darkening night mods came with its own BSA and another mod installed a file into the \data substructure, the file in the \data substructure will ALWAYS be used instead of the one in the BSA. Some mods don't delete files installed to the \data substructure when you uninstall them. You must delete them yourself. When you have as many mods as you do, that can become quite tricky. Another possibility is that your dark night mod installed a particular file in your \data substructure and then another mod overwrote that file. But if you reinstall the original dark night mod, that would fix the issue as expected.

 

Whatever you're looking for, it's most likely in:

 

\Data\meshes\sky

\Data\textures\sky

 

One thing you could try is to move all the files from these two folders (and any sub folders). Save them so you can restore them if this doesn't work. Then reinstall the night sky mods you want.

 

Then again, I could be completely wrong.

Edited June 20, 2013 by pkleiss

[QuickDEMOL1SHER]

I don't know if this will help, but here's my 2 cents...

 

Some mods install files into the \Data folder substructure. The way the game works, it looks for these files first before looking for them in the BSA files. Files within the BSA are structured identical to the \Data substructure. If one of your darkening night mods came with its own BSA and another mod installed a file into the \data substructure, the file in the \data substructure will ALWAYS be used instead of the one in the BSA. Some mods don't delete files installed to the \data substructure when you uninstall them. You must delete them yourself. When you have as many mods as you do, that can become quite tricky. Another possibility is that your dark night mod installed a particular file in your \data substructure and then another mod overwrote that file. But if you reinstall the original dark night mod, that would fix the issue as expected.

 

Whatever you're looking for, it's most likely in:

 

\Data\meshes\sky

\Data\textures\sky

 

One thing you could try is to move all the files from these two folders (and any sub folders). Save them so you can restore them if this doesn't work. Then reinstall the night sky mods you want.

 

Then again, I could be completely wrong.

I'll give this a shot and play around with the subfolders a bit. Thanks for the response.

 

EDIT: So after poking around, I actually don't have a "sky" folder in Meshes. I have one in Textures only. Could this be a problem?

Edited June 20, 2013 by QuickDEMOL1SHER

[pkleiss]

No, that is not a problem at all. All that means is that no mod has installed any files to that folder, so any calls for sky meshes will go directly to the BSA. Also, that most likely means the issue lies within sky textures folder only - which makes the most sense anyway.

 

I don't know how much you know, so I apologize if I'm telling you something you already know...but, meshes are the models, the skeletons of what you see graphically in the game while the textures are the painted-on colors. It makes sense that dark nights uses darker colors to paint the sky than makes up its own model of the sky. maybe I'll download that mod and see what's in it...

[pkleiss]

So I took a look at Darker Nights - Darker, and it's a real simple mod. All it is is 10 image space modifiers that replace 10 normal night sky image spaces. It uses no files that override any BSA files. Perhaps your issue isn't really an issue after all. As different parts of the wasteland use different image spaces, could it be that you are comparing one night sky in the area your character is in now to a different one from earlier in your game? Honestly, I could make all the image space look exactly like Megaton in about 10 minutes - though that wouldn't be very nice to the mod author.

 

Here is a list of the "Night skys" replaced with Darker Nights - Darker...

 

Wasteland Northern Night

Wasteland East Night

Suburban Night

Wasteland Megaton Night

Wasteland East Oasis Night

Wasteland Decay Night

Urban Deep Night

Urban Night

Megaton Fallout Deep Night

Wasteland Night

Edited June 20, 2013 by pkleiss

[pkleiss]

Scratch that. It appears that those 10 items I listed are weather items. It could be that the game has picked a particular weather item that Darker nights has no image space modifier for. Though I am not sure how time of day and weather affects the image space.

 

You can try this. Go into an interior cell - like the player home in Megaton - and wait for three days. Save the game, reload your save, then go out at night in the wasteland and see if you don't have different weather and a different image space (darkness).

[QuickDEMOL1SHER]

Gotcha. I knew a bit, but this clears things up a lot.

 

I'm away from my gaming pc for a few days, but I'll try what you suggested asap.

 

Many thanks.

[QuickDEMOL1SHER]

GOT IT!

 

When you described the weather stuff and how Darker Nights effects weather, not lighting, it got me thinking about how it could be having problems with Project Reality, since that has its own weather system and dark nights.

 

I uninstalled Darker Nights, re-installed Project Reality, messed with the Dark Wasteland options within Project Reality, waited 3 days and VOILA! Can't hardly see my hands in front of my face.

 

Many, many thanks for the help.