Load Order - is mine optimal?

[Zerayan]

Actually one thing I would try is to uncheck the followers mod, as it is one of the mods I didn't get working at all on my setup.

 

For Fellout, it comes with an alternate .esp names Fellout-SOTD.esp that isn't as dark at nights, even though you might not see anything further than 20 meters away even with it's settings. There is a mod on Nexus that restores the vanilla nights to Fellout, but it's like daytime with less colors :) In my experience, Fellout is very stable and does not conflict with anything (I have tested over 400 mods myself with Fellout always on my list).

 

If I uncheck the follwers mod, is there any other confirmed stable mods that enable multple followers? I didn't think about using Fellout-SOTD, I thought it actually made nights even more dark.

[FadingCeiling]

Fellout - SOTD = Scared of the Dark edition. It's meant for people who cannot play the game with HDR/Bloom enabled iirc. Or those who are scared of the dark.

[Zerayan]

Actually one thing I would try is to uncheck the followers mod, as it is one of the mods I didn't get working at all on my setup.

 

For Fellout, it comes with an alternate .esp names Fellout-SOTD.esp that isn't as dark at nights, even though you might not see anything further than 20 meters away even with it's settings. There is a mod on Nexus that restores the vanilla nights to Fellout, but it's like daytime with less colors :) In my experience, Fellout is very stable and does not conflict with anything (I have tested over 400 mods myself with Fellout always on my list).

 

It sounds like the Followers mod may be the culprit, but if you could never get it to work, are there any other confirmed stable alternatives? Could the issue be related to the Gauss Rifle mods I have installed?

[GrandsonOfSam]

As far as I know, there are 3 mods for vanilla followers, from which none are very stable... Every each one of them messes with the vanilla game mechanics/scripts, which is bound to cause trouble as they change scripts from the basic game, so mods that rely on vanilla scripts WILL conflict with them. That is something that modders should never do, unless it's a total conversion.

 

You should try the Sharing And Caring Companions mod that enables you to make followers from about any NPC that you can get into a real conversation with... It bypasses the vanilla hiring completely without messing with it, so its very safe. I actually use it's hire function on the vanilla followers too as it's system for handling followers is better. There are also mods for SCC that add new companions, some even with their own multi-stage quests (like 187 GURLZ which is the best companion addon I have seen, and requires SCC). SCC is stable as rock so I would recommend using it for managing companions.

 

I would recommend trying with everything else disabled than the official addons first, and maybe even disable Zeta (it does mess with some mods). If the game crashes without any mods, you probably have some setting or settings too high. This game really eats resources, even though it doesn't look that "pretty". Lazy programming I suppose.

 

On the Unofficial Fallout 3 Patch: It does have fixes that were not in the official 1.7 patch, so yes, you can use the Unofficial Patch too, although the changes are nothing critical, so you can easily do without it too. Thank you Fonger for making me doublecheck the changes in GECK, I stand corrected :)

Edited February 2, 2010 by Grandson Of Sam

[Zerayan]

As far as I know, there are 3 mods for vanilla followers, from which none are very stable... Every each one of them messes with the vanilla game mechanics/scripts, which is bound to cause trouble as they change scripts from the basic game, so mods that rely on vanilla scripts WILL conflict with them. That is something that modders should never do, unless it's a total conversion.

 

You should try the Sharing And Caring Companions mod that enables you to make followers from about any NPC that you can get into a real conversation with... It bypasses the vanilla hiring completely without messing with it, so its very safe. I actually use it's hire function on the vanilla followers too as it's system for handling followers is better. There are also mods for SCC that add new companions, some even with their own multi-stage quests (like 187 GURLZ which is the best companion addon I have seen, and requires SCC). SCC is stable as rock so I would recommend using it for managing companions.

 

I would recommend trying with everything else disabled than the official addons first, and maybe even disable Zeta (it does mess with some mods). If the game crashes without any mods, you probably have some setting or settings too high. This game really eats resources, even though it doesn't look that "pretty". Lazy programming I suppose.

 

On the Unofficial Fallout 3 Patch: It does have fixes that were not in the official 1.7 patch, so yes, you can use the Unofficial Patch too, although the changes are nothing critical, so you can easily do without it too. Thank you Fonger for making me doublecheck the changes in GECK, I stand corrected :)

 

Thanks for the info, I'll give SCC a shot. What's your take on the 2 Gauss Rifle mods I've installed? I'm a huge fan of Fallout 2 and the GR was one of my favorite weapons, it's unfortunate Beth hadn't bothered to fix its issues.

 

Regarding Visual Settings, which settings have the greatest impact on performance? I like the HD Textures combined with Fellout for sure, but I do notice a lot of visual tearing and stuttering with the settings at Ultra (with AA and AF off). Could that be a cause as well?

[FadingCeiling]

First to drop would be AA and AF and then Texture Quality to medium IMO. If you really want to use Fellout I don't personally recommend dropping from HDR to Bloom or totally off.

 

I haven't noticed much performance increase/drop with shadow/water settings.

Draw distances should always be maxed if at all possible as it impacts the gameplay quite a bit.

IIRC Tweakguides had a nice guide for Fallout 3 graphics settings.

 

Ps. What are the "nothing critical" that the UF3P fixes that weren't included in 1.7?

[Zerayan]

First to drop would be AA and AF and then Texture Quality to medium IMO. If you really want to use Fellout I don't personally recommend dropping from HDR to Bloom or totally off.

 

I haven't noticed much performance increase/drop with shadow/water settings.

Draw distances should always be maxed if at all possible as it impacts the gameplay quite a bit.

IIRC Tweakguides had a nice guide for Fallout 3 graphics settings.

 

Ps. What are the "nothing critical" that the UF3P fixes that weren't included in 1.7?

 

It's unfortunate that Beth used such an old graphics engine. The graphics, animation and visual effects could be WAY better than what they are now, not to mention the physics are beyond terrible. You'd also think that a company that specializes in RPG games, that they would provide a lot better support for their product.

[Fonger]

It's unfortunate that Beth used such an old graphics engine.

Yes, but Windows 7 wasn't on the chopping block when FO3 hit the shelves

 

Neither was Directx 11

 

as it was a great many people had difficulties with the graphics engine because their systems just weren't bleeding edge enough for that time.

[FadingCeiling]

Blasphemy I shout at ye!

 

*gives Zerayan a good spankin'*

 

Okey maybe the gfx engine Fallout 3 uses isn't state of the art anymore but it used to be. From todays viewpoint sure it has MANY flaws compared to newer ones but in my opinion the overall graphics of Fallout 3 is extremely beautiful especially when you toss in some fan made texture/lightning/animation upgrades. the sad part is that the engine could have been a lot better but sadly the *bleep* at Bethesda did not want to invest in it. Some of the outdated things such as graphics (if you mean textures/lightning for example), animation and visual effects have been modified and enhanced by the thriving fan base but there's not much even the fans can do when it comes to hardcoding. Some things just cannot be enhanced without the help from say Bethesda who IMO do not want to participate and contribute.

 

Todays market driven and push what the majority wants mentality in game development has been a big setback for PC games (I blame consoles) as games cannot be too complex as they most likely will be ported to consoles which are extremely limited compared to PC's. Also when you consider that game development isn't as affordable as it used to be, the multiple platforms and computer peripherals and devices available pretty much means that corners have to be cut to make the deadline and push products out to the consumers (usually way too early - well most of the time).

[Zerayan]

Blasphemy I shout at ye!

 

*gives Zerayan a good spankin'*

 

Okey maybe the gfx engine Fallout 3 uses isn't state of the art anymore but it used to be. From todays viewpoint sure it has MANY flaws compared to newer ones but in my opinion the overall graphics of Fallout 3 is extremely beautiful especially when you toss in some fan made texture/lightning/animation upgrades. the sad part is that the engine could have been a lot better but sadly the *bleep* at Bethesda did not want to invest in it. Some of the outdated things such as graphics (if you mean textures/lightning for example), animation and visual effects have been modified and enhanced by the thriving fan base but there's not much even the fans can do when it comes to hardcoding. Some things just cannot be enhanced without the help from say Bethesda who IMO do not want to participate and contribute.

 

Todays market driven and push what the majority wants mentality in game development has been a big setback for PC games (I blame consoles) as games cannot be too complex as they most likely will be ported to consoles which are extremely limited compared to PC's. Also when you consider that game development isn't as affordable as it used to be, the multiple platforms and computer peripherals and devices available pretty much means that corners have to be cut to make the deadline and push products out to the consumers (usually way too early - well most of the time).

 

Lol, I definitely didn't intend to offend anyone, but after playing and loving games with stunning graphics and visual effects such as Crysis (and soon Crysis 2 with DX11), my standards have become pretty high. Fallout 3 uses the same engine as Oblivion from what I can tell, and look how many years old that game is. I agree definitely that back in the day, the graphics were top notch, but I still enjoy Fallout 3 quite a lot regardless.