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Beginner Modder Question/Advice


bwalke29

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Hey guys/girls, hate to say it but I am a mod noob. I just built a new gaming pc and I def want to test the limit on it, especially with Fallout and skyrim. I researched on how to use nexus mod manager and I feel like I have the hang of it. But I wanted to ask some questions and get feedback/advice if some stuff is even possible? lol For my fallout 4 build, coming from my console , I went narcissist and built my character to myself (Im male btw)... So I would like that to be my main/first character run on my pc. Any suggestions on some mods before I start my story? Must haves, or wait until this part to mod? I really want to do a landscape upgrade (doesnt have to be 4k, i know that might slow down performance), I did see a f04 mod for enhanced weather? Also i know i struggled on building settlements on my console bc of the restricted size limit, etc. So i would love free ability to do anything in my settlement. Ok, and i did notice the #1 mod on here uhh CBBe? Now since Im playing on my dude, i dont want to stare at my dudes back-end or junk flopping around, but i wouldn't mind making him look more crisp (graphics wise) if that's possible, I am not sure? I was kind of disappointed with the lack of companion choices, and I wouldn't mind a mod for customized ones? I really wouldn't mind having like Triss or Ciri (Witcher) as a follower! Or if there was an option just to edit one already on the game. And for the npc's on the game, is they anyway to get rid of certain ones (marcy) or just edit appearance/change name of some? And going back to the CBBe mod that's number #1, Im a dude, so of course I like TnA... But Im not going to create just a female character and run around naked, just to see TnA.. my question is, is there anyway, say I am playing my main character and just got done with a quest, killed mutants, killed raiders, and Im just like, you know what, I need to see some TnA.. Lol is there anyway to have your follower or a npc to unequip or have no clothes on them? Like I said, i dont want to create a main female character just for Tna.. Thanks for you time on reading my post, sorry if my thoughts seem random haha, I appreciate any advice or suggestions!

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You should have just be straight forward with what you said instead of saying things like TnA ... took me a while to figure out what it meant. I understand you like to be polite, but for the use of abbreviation, it's best to at least once in the article show what it means in a bracket.

 

Anyway, welcome to the world of PC gaming. Let's just say I wouldn't be playing Skyrim or Fallout without the ability to mod. I am going to assume you never modded before and have no idea how it really works. So if I get too detailed, don't get offended and just let me know.

 

Here comes the risk factor:

 

- Mods can be very unstable. Because nobody here is paid, or working with Bethesda. They are just like you and me trying to do a few things, and learning through trial and error, with a lot of blind searching. So expect your mods to crash your game. CTD = Crash to Desktop.

 

- Load order, install order are extremely important. The master files usually need to load first, and other files load after that depends on the master files. Some files do overwrite each other's certain content. So you must be aware of this.

 

- 2 kinds of mods: esp mods and texture replacer. ESP type will alter main game content and potentially cause all the CTD issues and have a limit of how many you can install (255 files). Texture replacer is simply replacing texture, the game doesn't even know they exist, which makes it a lot safer to use (because they will just look bad but not break the game).

- 3drd kind is 3rd party mods. If you hear of ENB, they are 3rd party, not part of the game engine. Be wary of these and where you download them. Because they can be a scam to trick you to download a virus. I personally reported and got a mod banned for advertising for "driveable cars in Fallout 4" on Nexus. Nexus is usually safe but the admin can't catch everything.

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What mods to install?

 

- ENB: enhances graphics of the game. If you want to try these, make sure you download the original program from ENB official website (as in this is a 3rd party program).

 

- Any replacers: open the zip files, if no .esp or .esm ... they are replacers. They don't give you anything "new" in game, just replace the texture. Better sky, nicer trees, HD quality weapon ... CBBE is a nude skin replacer. It should be a texture replacer but it is not. In order for it to work it needs to have a .esp. But it is very simple and safe.

 

- CBBE: is not just a simple nude skin replacer. It comes along a Bodyslide program (as in not in the game) that will let you create your own female body however you like (your dream comes true). But because the way things work in Bethesda game (everything is an outfit), just having to make a nude body with DD sized boobs doesn't mean they look like that when wearing armors. Thus you have to use the same program to rebuild the outfits to reflect your preferred body setting too.

 

- Unique Player, Unique Follower: These are just 2 mods. They allow your player and companions to have each a unique body shape + skin, away from the rest of the world.

- New/standalone weapons/outfits... these create new items in game. Can be a clone or an existing item, or a brand new looking thing. A new M16 rifle, AK47, some cool looking Vault suit (that doesn't affect the Vanilla vault suit at all). These are, for the most part, safer mods.

 

- Armorsmith Extended: More than just a workbench, it's a whole new system that many weapon/armor upgrades depend on. This is where things get complex. You can crash your game if you don't install correctly or have wrong load order. Example: one of my favorite Combat Armor mod requires AE (Amorsmith Extended). So it must load AFTER (below) AE or the uprgades don't work, and may cause CTD when you go into work bench.

- Anything to do with settlement: to me, this is by far the scariest part of modding. Personally I feel Spring Cleaning (allows you to clean up dirt and rubles) and Homemaker (a lot more build options) are the mods I try to keep. But you have to be very careful as they can be very unstable with the use of combinations of mods.
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So I listed the type of mods from very safe to the most complex/least safe mods. I advise you to start with no mod, and add them slowly add them in this order. Maybe start with CBBE first, it is very safe and you are going to spend heaps of time customizing anyway. CBBE itself gives you a default nude body and vanilla outfits to convert. You create your dream body, build it (which means overwrite the existing default body), and do the same for all the outfits. There are more CBBE converts out there for certain custom/standalone armors that you may want to look into.

To answer your question about how to see anyone nude that fancy your testosterone: (it's ok, I understand, no judging, just a game).

 

- Kill them, strip them naked. A sadistic/barbaric way of doing things to someone you hate.... just a game ... so no judging there.

 

- Find some very skimpy outfits for them to wear, or simply to replace the Vanilla outfits. This is where CBBE comes in, it opens the door of possibility. Not only you can get new skimpy outfit (as replacer or new standalone), but also can rebuild the outfit to your dream body type.

 

- No way to completely strip your companion. However, Armorsmith and Unique Followers, give you this "One Ring to nude" someone. It's no fancy magic, the ring is a nude outfit (the game sees it as an outfit like any armor piece) but visually it shows the nude body.

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That's it for now for Fallout 4. It's still a very new game. Skyrim on the other hand will have a lot more to offer. New player houses, flying airships (that you can fly it), even to have sex with NPC, new land, new quest, new animations, etc... But the same goes: the more complex, the easier the chance you get to CTD your game if not careful. It's like a car, you dont just shove it to the mechanic "fix it", but you must know what is going on under the hood for best result.

Use Nexus Mod Manager for best experience. But keep in mind, when it comes to custom content (like CBBE), uninstalling and reinstalling CBBE will wipe your custom body. You need to go into their file system and backup your custom made files manually (I am not going to go over that here, too much info).

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Wow, I really appreciate you explaining all that, I definitely have a lot of learning to do over Fallout 4! I just looked at the skyrim version of nexus mods, and thats overwhelming

 

I can type/talk a lot. I more worry about how to condense so it doesn't turn out to be so lengthy.

 

For Skyrim, you start with what I suggested, CBBE (or UNP, or a few other nude skin system). They are the safest. When I say nude skin, I mean the whole clothing system that goes with it. I started out loving UNP more than CBBE because of a more "natural" body shape. But after Bodyslide came out, CBBE means "you can create any look you want". But some will tell you that certain skins look a lot better on UNP or other system because they are much higher polygons while CBBE strikes the middle ground: 40,000 polys, mid range. FO4 Vanilla has around 10,000 polys.

 

Once you are happy with clothing, look for custom weapons and stuff. Do read up their comment sections that sometimes suggest if a mod is doing well or having lots of issues (avoid until you know better). While I say "don't judge the book by cover", it's important how their Nexus description look. Dedicated modders will spend lots of time to take nice screenshots and beautify their pages. Random casual modders probably throw their mods online after 5 minutes writing random words with lots of mispells. I would go with someone who take pride in their mods.

 

Once you are absolutely happy with these, then move on the more complex stuff like town, custom horses, player houses, etc... Because if you try to slam everything all at once, you won't know what to do when your game starts crashing. Nude skin attracts a lot of gamers. My boyrfriend loves it too. So that alone gives you little risk and lots of rewards!

Edited by tomomi1922
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