New to FO3

[MichikoUnknownFox]

I'm getting FO3 GOTY off Steam right now (as in it's downloading now). And I suddenly realized that after having played heavily modded Oblivion for so many years, I'm worried about playing FO3 suddenly. I know how overwhelming modding an ultra-moddable game is for a total newbie like me. And I'm still thinking in Oblivion terms. I was getting so panicky that I started to wonder, "Will I have to relearn some FO3 version of Wrye Bash (FO3Edit is it...)?"

 

And before you ask, yes I do want to mod the game immediately lol. At the very least I wanna get the fixes and other things that are necessary to keep the game running smooth.

 

First thing I did was check out the FAQs but I'm a little intimidated now. There seems to be quite a few bugs that the latest official patch (1.7?) introduced, according to this topic, and the unofficial patches seem like they haven't been updated in a while. Is there something I need to know on this matter?

 

Do I still need the so-called "Fake Patch"? Are there "overhaul" type mods that are recommended/useful/fun? (You know, like FCOM/OOO and whatnot for Oblivion...)

 

What else do I actually need to know? Because there doesn't seem to be any pinned topics that specifically point to anything. Google tells me the game is pretty good out of the box already. Sorry for my skepticism but I don't really believe that. Best I ask the community rather than some guy on another forum, etc.

[bethjunkie]

There's really no reason to fear the 1.7 patch which comes with GOTY. The Fake Patch is obsolete and the Unofficial Patches are horribly outdated and have been known to cause problems for some users. Personally, I've never used any of the unofficial patches and I don't feel I've missed anything. A few floating bushes and two invisible vault suits don't bother me.

 

There's a port of Bash for FO3 called Wrye Flash. It doesn't have the full functionality of Bash but it's still a great tool. You'll also want FOMM (unless you make your own BAIN packages). FO3Edit is handy for solving conflicts and there's a gigantic manual for it here.

 

There are several great overhauls. I wouldn't dream of playing without Mart's Mutant Mod, Weapon Mod Kits adds some extra fun, EVE is great for lovers of energy weapons and FWE is the go-to mod for a harsher, more FPS-oriented game. There are compatibility patches to make those mods work together.

 

Fallout 3 is great fun unmodded but I know how tempting it is to fill a new game up with mods before playing it. I would hold off on installing something like FWE until a second playthrough but it's your game to do with as you wish :)

[MichikoUnknownFox]

Thanks for all the tips! Yeah as a fan of modding, it's really hard to stay away and just play a vanilla game. :dance:

 

How prevalent is that weapon-wristwatch companion bug thing? Is it something to be worried about, or is it an actual rare occurrence, or something that fixes itself within the game anyway? That's what I'm worried about the most really because I definitely wanna play with companions.

 

I may try FWE right off the bat. I'm used to fast-paced FPS games, so it could be a very welcome mod indeed. That's really why I'm looking to play FO3 anyway. Simply put, I wanna run around and shoot stuff. I can do that in FO3, right? D:

 

Mart's Mutant Mod? Hahaha. Nice to see familiar names in the modding scene. But it's inevitable I guess, since it's both a Bethesda game and largely hosted on the same community site. Looking around at it, I see that FOIP seems to be the equivalent of FCOM. I hope it's not quite as much of a hassle to learn to install properly as FCOM though. The individual mods in the package sound like fun, and I'd like to see them put together.

 

I forgot to ask, is there an equivalent of BOSS? Do I have to manually sort my load order? I already saw that there are some templates, but I dunno, BOSS really spoiled me. If there's none, I guess I'll just do it the old-fashioned way of course.

[Moraelin]

Personally I use FOMM to sort the load order. It's also VERY useful to have around for modding, because of TESnip, which you probably remember from Oblivion days.

 

As for companions I don't like them much in FO3, because they're (A) nuts, and (B) stealing my XP :P But your mileage may vary. Other people sure seem to love companions.

 

If you like to run around and shoot stuff, yeah, Mart's is a good idea. Gives you a lot more targets than the vanilla game.

 

Speaking of modding, though, the first thing I'd do is copy some MP3's you like into the music folder. I mean, the FO3 music ain't bad by half, but it really... helps the mood to run around capping slavers to the sound of Sodom growling

 

"Bullet in the head!

Kick the bucket!

Are you prepared?

You've got a bullet in your head

To stop the way you earn your bread!"

 

You know what I mean? :P

 

I'd say everything else than Mart's and that is probably optional though. Best thing to do IMHO is to look around the downloads section and decide for yourself what sounds/looks good to YOU. I mean, some people like rusty stuff, some of us like shiny new weapons, some want strictly WW2 era weapons and armour, some of us like running around with Hellsing/Star-Wars/Star-Trek stuff or even medieval weaponry (if a two-hander sword was good enough in Cyrodiil, it's good enough in DC, I say;)), etc.

 

Don't be afraid to back-port New Vegas weapon/armour mods too, for your own use, btw. Mostly you just need to load it in TESnip, set the master to Fallout3.esm, set the version to 0,94, delete any CELL branch if present, save. Now you can load it in the FO3 GECK and place it wherever you wish. So if you want the Jackal gun and nobody ported it to FO3, well, you can scratch your own itch. I know I did :P

[bethjunkie]

The weapon-wristwatch bug really doesn't happen that often. Some modded companions like Kelsey will get it if you go through a load door while they have their weapon drawn. I use Charon Improved and I've never seen it with him. If the bug does happen, talking to your companion and opening their inventory will fix it.

 

Yes, you can run around and shoot stuff all day long. It's my favorite thing to do. I like a lively game so in addition to MMM, I have MTC Wasteland Travelers walking from place to place, settlements populated by Crowded Cities, extra encounters from Wasteland Patrols, and Iguanas by sesom to chase, grill and keep as pets. My game is never boring and I love that about it. Oh, I suggest grabbing DC Interiors too to open up the otherwise inaccessible buildings in the DC Ruins. You can never have too many places to explore and scavenge.

 

The patches from FOIP allow FWE, MMM, WMK and EVE to work together. Just make sure to grab the right patches for the version of the overhaul you're running. It's not difficult to install at all. There's even a video install guide for it around here somewhere but it was made for an older version of FWE.

 

BOSS is here. It recognizes the major mods and has come a long way in the past year or so but there are still a good number of lesser known mods you'll be left on your own to sort.

 

Welcome to Fallout 3 :)

[MichikoUnknownFox]

Thanks for the welcome!

 

(lol my account name changed suddenly)

 

Yeah I guess I'll go snooping around the file section. They have WW2 weapon replacers?! Wow that definitely sounds like something I wanna get.

 

I'll try to get as many enemy spawning mods as I can get lol. I don't mean to make it a mindless shootout like Left4Dead or anything, but I do want to run around and always potentially run into bandits (or raiders I think they're called in this game) and whatnot.

 

Speaking of modding, though, the first thing I'd do is copy some MP3's you like into the music folder.

Good idea. I'm a composer. I'll fill it up with my own stuff. :dance: