A little help with load order

[UltimaKain]

Hey all,

I've been surfing the net for a while trying to fix some bugs I'm getting, most likely caused by load order or imperfections in some mods. I've played through Vanilla Fallout 3 a while ago without any serious show stoppers except the jefferson memorial bug at one point. This is my first time using FOOK 2, I have used FOOK before. Essentially, 2 things I'm trying to fix. 1. Random CTDs that I can't pick out why, seems to crash a lot inside of rivet city, or at random spots in the wasteland. 2. If this freezes, I have to restart my computer, not becaues the computer is frozen but I cannot close the program. Cannot see the task manager since the screen is still populated by Fallout. Also I cannot close the program without alt F4. It freezes on closing. I forgot what FakePatch is, but I think it was something to do with bugs being in a version that undid perks or something.

 

If anyone an lend a helping hand with this, I'd really appreciate this. Thanks.

My Load order

________________________________

Fallout3.esm

Unofficial Fallout 3 Patch.esm

FakePatch_v1.4.0.6.ESM

Anchorage.esm

ThePitt.esm

BrokenSteel.esm

PointLookout.esm

Zeta.esm

HairPack.esm

CALIBR.esm

FOOK2 - Main.esm

FOOK2 - [*censored*] World And Neighbourhood Kit.esm

FOOK2 - [DIK] DLC Improvement Kit.esm

Mart's Mutant Mod.esm

Unofficial Fallout 3 Patch - Operation Anchorage.esp

Unofficial Fallout 3 Patch - The Pitt.esp

Unofficial Fallout 3 Patch - Broken Steel.esp

Unofficial Fallout 3 Patch - Point Lookout.esp

Unofficial Fallout 3 Patch - Mothership Zeta.esp

FOOK2 - Main.esp

FOOK2 - [DIK] DLC Improvement Kit.esp

FOOK2 - [EVE] Energy Visuals Enhanced.esp

MyFOOK2 - Black & White Tranquility Lane.esp

FOOK2 - Main Level Up Fix 1.3.esp

FOOK2 - DIK Level Up Fix 1.3.esp

TL_Hotfix_[Experimental]_.esp

FleshBurningPlasma.esp

IPip.esp

UsableCigarettes.esp

Cigarette Wrapper.esp

LocationalDamage.esp

AddBottle.esp

trenchcoat.esp

Sprint Mod.esp

MaxLevelWorkaround-HP-BS.esp

KillableKids.esp

Better Companions Ess.esp

AmplifiedCrippledEffectsV1-3.esp

WastelandMastery.esp

hair_add_npc.esp

sunglassescollection.esp

FollowersHire.esp

RobCo Certified.esp

QuantumPipeV2.esp

YearlingsGlasses.esp

Treasure Maps_Bobblehead Edition.esp

sc_slaves_stick_around.esp

SeducingWomen.esp

Mart's Mutant Mod.esp

Mart's Mutant Mod - DLC Anchorage.esp

Mart's Mutant Mod - DLC The Pitt.esp

Mart's Mutant Mod - Increased Spawns.esp

Mart's Mutant Mod - Feral Ghoul Rampage.esp

Mart's Mutant Mod - Hunting & Looting.esp

Mart's Mutant Mod - Tougher Traders.esp

Mart's Mutant Mod - Natural Selection.esp

JSBlack'sNanoArmor.esp

 

Total active plugins: 57

Total plugins: 61

[Bazerk83]

Fallout3.esm

Anchorage.esm

ThePitt.esm

BrokenSteel.esm

PointLookout.esm

Zeta.esm

Unofficial Fallout 3 Patch.esm

CALIBR.esm

FOOK2 - Main.esm

FOOK2 - [*censored*] World And Neighbourhood Kit.esm

FOOK2 - [DIK] DLC Improvement Kit.esm

FakePatch_v1.4.0.6.ESM

HairPack.esm

Mart's Mutant Mod.esm

Unofficial Fallout 3 Patch - Operation Anchorage.esp

Unofficial Fallout 3 Patch - The Pitt.esp

Unofficial Fallout 3 Patch - Point Lookout.esp

Unofficial Fallout 3 Patch - Mothership Zeta.esp

Unofficial Fallout 3 Patch - Broken Steel.esp

FOOK2 - Main.esp

FOOK2 - [DIK] DLC Improvement Kit.esp

FOOK2 - [EVE] Energy Visuals Enhanced.esp

MyFOOK2 - Black & White Tranquility Lane.esp

FOOK2 - Main Level Up Fix 1.3.esp

FOOK2 - DIK Level Up Fix 1.3.esp

TL_Hotfix_[Experimental]_.esp

FleshBurningPlasma.esp

IPip.esp

UsableCigarettes.esp

Cigarette Wrapper.esp

LocationalDamage.esp

AddBottle.esp

trenchcoat.esp

Sprint Mod.esp

MaxLevelWorkaround-HP-BS.esp

KillableKids.esp

Better Companions Ess.esp

AmplifiedCrippledEffectsV1-3.esp

WastelandMastery.esp

hair_add_npc.esp

sunglassescollection.esp

FollowersHire.esp

RobCo Certified.esp

QuantumPipeV2.esp

YearlingsGlasses.esp

Treasure Maps_Bobblehead Edition.esp

sc_slaves_stick_around.esp

SeducingWomen.esp

Mart's Mutant Mod.esp

Mart's Mutant Mod - DLC Anchorage.esp

Mart's Mutant Mod - DLC The Pitt.esp

Mart's Mutant Mod - Increased Spawns.esp

Mart's Mutant Mod - Feral Ghoul Rampage.esp

Mart's Mutant Mod - Hunting & Looting.esp

Mart's Mutant Mod - Tougher Traders.esp

Mart's Mutant Mod - Natural Selection.esp

JSBlack'sNanoArmor.esp

 

 

Try this loadout. You have alot of individual mods, some of which are not overly endorsed. If you're still experiencing a lot of CTDs or other crashes/problems you should run FO3edit and load your mods into it bit by bit to determine where the errors or conflicts are.

 

Once you've ironed out any errors FO3edit finds you should then create a merged patch and save it.

 

Lastly, if you're not already aware, Fallout 3 is problematic for 99.9% of people who play the PC version. Unfortunately crashes are part and parcel of this game.

 

Hope this helps.

[csb]

Oh yay! Let's play the Guess-o-rama Load Order game!

 

There are suggested load orders that get you close, but to be conflict-free takes a bit more work than playing the load-order shuffle. Also, you mention freezes as well as CTDs. So, I'll touch on both.

 

I'm assuming you are using Timeslip's Fallout Mod Manager (FOMM) ... if you aren't, get it -- it is a must-have Fallout3 utility.

 

Next, you'll need ElminsterAU's FO3Edit and Miax's great FO3Edit Guide - Web-enized to learn how to use FO3Edit to find and resolve mod conflicts. Follow the guide's Conflict Resolution chapter. If you use the automated Create Merge Patch function, be sure to follow up with going through manually to find what the merge function misses (it will get about 90% of the issues). Follow the guide's instructions on manually patching by using Copy as Override into (select the merge patch) or by drag 'n' drop into the merge.

 

The sequence goes like this:

1. Use FOMM to set your load order.
   
2. Close FOMM (to save the load order) and start FO3Edit. Run the conflict filter settings. Look at the conflicts, asking, "Can any of these be resolved by changing load order?" If yes, close FO3Edit and go into FOMM to adjust the order. Go to step 1, repeat this step until the answer to the question is "No."
   
3. Once it is obvious that load order won't solve anything further, launch FO3Edit, run the conflict detection filter again. Following the guide, create your patch plug-in, either manually (my preference, though it takes longer) or using the Create Merge Patch function.
   
4. The automated patch method isn't foolproof ... it will get you about 90% of the way there, however. Follow up by stepping through the load order, top to bottom, by stepping through and expanding the tree view, correcting anything the automated method missed.
   
5. Once you've resolved all the conflicts (and, of course, saved your merge patch), close FO3Edit.
   
6. Run FO3Edit in Master Update mode (as covered in the guide).
   
7. Play Fallout3.
   

With a long load list and a first-time run-through, it will take a bit of time (but not horribly long, given the less-crash prone result) to get through the process. However, it is well worth it, as your game will be much more stable afterward.

 

Now, regarding freezes. A few things to look into:

• Often this is tied to fddshow. If you have a codec utility installed, use it to disable fddshow in Fallout3 (and Oblivion too, while you're at it). If you don't have a codec utility, try K-Lite (even if you never use the utility, the latest version disables fddshow in Fallout3 and Oblivion during setup).
  
• You'll also want to go to TweakGuides.com and read through the Fallout3 guide. It will help you optimize your Fallout3.ini file specific to your system.
  
• Along with the .ini-specific tweaks, note the recommended video driver. Reading the companion tweak guide for maximizing graphics cards for gaming is helpful as well. The latest driver isn't always the one best suited for Fallout3 (or Oblivion).
  

Hope this helps.

[UltimaKain]

Hey thanks for the response! I reordered my load order and I still get the occasional crashes especially at the part I am at now. It seems that whenever I save (I turned autosaving off) around rivet city or fast travel from rivet city it crashes. But if I don't save it's ok for a bit, however I never know when I can save and I really don't want to lose progress if something substantial happens. Any ideas about random crashes caused by saving? Is this a common problem? I did some research and saw that some people remedied this in a certain instance by turning off autosave but I can't figure out when this crashing instance ends. Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[UltimaKain]

Cool, I'll try messing with FO3Edit and see what I can find.

[csb]

The crashing near Rivet City seems to be fairly common. It's funny, for me Rivet City is fine, but I CTD a lot in Springvale at the intersection ... guess it all depends :D But finding and fixing mod conflicts helps minimize this. But not always lol ... look at me and Springvale, for instance.

 

You can try to avoid it by following other posts' advice specific to Rivet City. But also try going into the console and typing "pcb" (no quotes). This purges the cell buffers. It might help, it certainly won't hurt. Disable saving while fast traveling, resting and waiting. This helps prevent save file corruptions (due to bloat and other things) in problematic areas. Of course, you'll have to manually save -- you should be saving to a new slot each time.

[Bazerk83]

csb - That post above has to be one of the best replies in response to a help request I've ever seen. You even taught me a couple of handy tips!

 

 

Hats off to you. Brilliant.