Noob with a heavily modded Fallout

[PederDingo]

I have found the exact combination of mods that makes my FO3 installation absolutely awesome, but I experience a lot of CTD's (along with a few other minor problems such as a close to useless laser rifle while using iron sights). Anyways, I have a long list of mods and I have followed readmes and tutorials quite thoroughly, also including load order and such - but I am new at this and I haven't put the time or effort into really understanding the logics of everything. I was hoping I could get some help, so I have posted my load order below. I also installed some other stuff that doesn't show - HD textures, meshes (for different helmet views and also different versions of the laserrifle.nif for iron sights). I also noticed that my computer gets pretty hot when playing this - I measured a max core temperature of 80 degrees while playing, which isn't that hot but still it is noticably hotter than when I played a heavily modded New Vegas on Ultra Settings or Oblivion modded with every graphics mod I could throw at it simultaneosly. Don't know if some of the graphics stuff are conflicting or perhaps not well written for my specific hardware. I have a constant framerate, but when new zones are loaded it sometims drops a bit for a little while or just flat out CTD's. It seems like I can provoke a CTD if I rush into a new zone and starts moving the mouse around when the framerate starts to drop, putting the computer to work. Maybe it is the HD texture pack or greeworlds or something else that has to do with loading new ares.

 

 

Load order:

 

Fallout3.esm

Anchorage.esm

ThePitt.esm

BrokenSteel.esm

PointLookout.esm

Zeta.esm

Unofficial Fallout 3 Patch.esm

CRAFT.esm

CALIBR.esm

FO3 Wanderers Edition - Main File.esm

FO3 Wanderers Edition - Alternate Travel.esp

EVE.esm

Mart's Mutant Mod.esm

Apocalypse Armory.esm

StreetLights.esm

Enhanced Weather - Rain and Snow.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

DarNifiedUIF3.esp

JetPack.esp

SniperZooming.esp

Multi-Pip 3000.esp

Apocalypse Armory.esp

Apocalypse Armory - Optional Historical Names.esp

Apocalypse Armory - Grenade Hotkeys.esp

StreetLights - Wasteland.esp

GreenWorld.esp

FO3 Wanderers Edition - Main File.esp

FO3 Wanderers Edition - DLC Anchorage.esp

FO3 Wanderers Edition - DLC The Pitt.esp

FO3 Wanderers Edition - DLC Broken Steel.esp

FO3 Wanderers Edition - DLC Point Lookout.esp

FO3 Wanderers Edition - DLC Mothership Zeta.esp

FO3 Wanderers Edition - Followers Enhanced (BrokenSteel).esp

FO3 Wanderers Edition - Optional VATS Halftime.esp

FO3 Wanderers Edition - Optional Restore Tracers (automatics only).esp

FWE_Overhaul Kit - Main.esp

WeaponModKits.esp

WeaponModKits - FWE Master Release.esp

WeaponModKits - OperationAnchorage.esp

WeaponModKits - ThePitt.esp

WeaponModKits - BrokenSteel.esp

WeaponModKits - PointLookout.esp

WeaponModKits - Zeta.esp

EVE.esp

EVE Operation Anchorage.esp

EVE - FWE Master Release.esp

EVE - FWE Master Release (Follower Enhanced).esp

EVE Anchorage - FWE DLC Anchorage.esp

EVE - FWE with WeaponModKits.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 - DLC Broken Steel.esp

Mart's Mutant Mod - DLC Point Lookout.esp

Mart's Mutant Mod - DLC Zeta.esp

Mart's Mutant Mod - Master Menu Module.esp

Mart's Mutant Mod - Tougher Traders.esp

Mart's Mutant Mod - FWE Master Release.esp

Mart's Mutant Mod - FWE Master Release + DLCs.esp

MMM - FWE & Overhaul Kit_Master Release.esp

=Medium+Far=DOF1.1.esp

=Subtle=MotionBlur1.1.esp

V.A.T.S. Depth of Field v1.0.esp

Fellout-Full.esp

Fellout-Anchorage.esp

Fellout-BrokenSteel.esp

Fellout-PointLookout.esp

Fellout-Zeta.esp

Fellout-pipboylight.esp

Enhanced Weather - Rain and Snow in Fallout.esp

Enhanced Weather - REBOOT.esp

Enhanced Weather - Radioactive Rain and Snow Plugin.esp

Enhanced Weather - Sneak Bonus during Storms.esp

Enhanced Weather - Weather Sounds in Interiors.esp

My Patch.esp

 

Total active plugins: 79

Total plugins: 98

 

 

There's a lot of stuff, and I am pretty sure I followed the various tutorials and readme fairly well, but again I have no clue about what I am doing except from what I read. Some of these mods are more important than others if the combination just wont work. My idea of the installation was an improved 1st person pure FWE playthrough, ie. focus on all that FWE has to offer and visuals/iron sights for 1st person view with added bad guys and spawning. And I like the added visuals from weather and from the HD textures, DoF etc., but they are not crucial. And the weapon add-ons are not that important either, if they are known to conflict beyond the various compatibility patches I installed. I have no real clue where the problem lies, so I would really really appreciate any advice.

Edited August 14, 2011 by PederDingo

[PederDingo]

I removed the texturepack altogether through FOMM - I found out I installed the super über bad version, and after that it CTD's less. However my computer still gets super hot - more than 90 degrees core temperature, and nothing else I throw at it results in this behaviour. Witcher 2 and other games you would think are a lot more demanding doesnt turn my computer into a frying pan, so I suspect something is wrong with my mods?

[BlackRampage]

I removed the texturepack altogether through FOMM - I found out I installed the super über bad version, and after that it CTD's less.

I assume you're talking about NMC's texture pack? Removing it can indeed make the game CTD less because the RAM gets overflowed less fast.

Another thing to take into consideration is that there's a memory leak in FO3 if you've got Win 7 64 bit.

 

Your CPU gets over 90 degrees? Whoa! Well, one would indeed think that a game like Witcher 2 might be more demanding, but add enough mods to FO3 and it can even bring some of the most modern rigs to it's knees.

Needless to say: 90 degrees is just ridiculously high. Are you certain the CPU fan is running good enough? Not too much dust in the cooling unit? You may also want to check if the cooling paste (the silver-colored stuff between your processor and the cooling unit) hasn't dried out or if there's enough of it and whether it makes contact with the cooling unit.

Also, if your mainboard is any good it will protect your CPU from melting down by simply freezing your screen (and the entire computer) making it appear like a CTD.

 

Load order:

 

How do you normally sort your load order? Do you use BOSS?

If not: Download it and sort your load order by using BOSS.

 

Also: The "streetlights - wasteland" mod is obsolete if you have the latest version of the main streetlights mod. You'll also need to put the streetlights mod in between "The Pitt" and "Broken Steel". Yes, even if BOSS tells you otherwise. (even BOSS isn't infallible)

 

I don't use FWE myself but I think that if you have both FWE and MMM, The "Mart's Mutant Mod - Master Menu Module.esp" becomes obsolete too. I'm guessing that "Mart's Mutant Mod - FWE Master Release.esp" replaces it, but you'll have to check that for yourself.

 

Don't forget to make a new merged patch afterwards.

[PederDingo]

I agree, 90 degrees is ridiculous - I know the i5 starts slowing down its clock speed when it reaches 105 degrees, but I put in a custom alarm at 90 CPU temp and 80 GPU temp so I can shut the game down manually before risking any damage done. It is a brand new laptop, just about a week old and it is fairly fast components for its price but a downright lousy build quality (I came from a Macbook to an Acer:-)). I take that into account too, I would like it to last for more than a year before it wears out. And yes it was the super insane version of NMC, I just downloaded it because the file said "full". Win7 64-bit and only 4 gigs of ram - is there anything to do to fix this memory leak you are talking about? I mean this behaviour has only been an issue with FO3 (and not for instance New Vegas with HD texture packs, DoF, new shaders and tonnes of other stuff installed).

 

I don't use BOSS (I used it for Oblivion) because I tried it a few times for FO3 where it gave me some strange load order suggestions so I figured I would just go by what the various tutorials for compatibility patches roughly say.

 

I'm now trying a more sound method: I did a fresh install and I am now adding mods one by one whilst logging temperatures when playing, so I can hopefully try and balance things. I'll just try and do it fresh and clean with only the mods I want the most. I will probably re-post here when my computer turns into a frying pan again in a few hours.

[BlackRampage]

Win7 64-bit and only 4 gigs of ram - is there anything to do to fix this memory leak you are talking about?

There is not.

There is however a handy tool which will allow FO3 to use all of your Ram instead of only 2 gigs. Large Address Aware Enabler

 

The fact that you play this game on a laptop however, does partially explain why your CPU becomes so hot. A laptop simply isn't built to run heavy 3d applications.

[PederDingo]

Yeah I know temperature in laptops is a totally different story than stationary computers, but only FO3 goes nuts like this - games like New Vegas and Witcher 2 do not cause super high temperature like this. When I push the hardware too much in Witcher 2 I just get reduced framerates. In FO3 it is nice framerates-->walking into a new zone-->CTD (now with a new record of 90 degrees on both CPU's and 80 degrees on the GPU).

 

I have done a fresh install with fewer mods, but it still runs equally hot, but a lot fewer CTD's. I've made a thread at Tom's Hardware asking about this heating stuff on a brand new computer and written the manufacturers of the laptop asking them if this is normal. I guess this has turned from a FO3 mod issue to a more general technical issue.

[bethjunkie]

I don't know what gpu you have in your laptop but my GTX 260m has gotten as high as 91 degrees while playing and that seems to be par for the course for this particular card. Fallout 3 runs hotter and uses much more of my gpu than New Vegas does. There's not a ton you can do to help it aside from keep your vents unblocked.

[Druuler]

Look into a laptop cooling unit, preferably one with two or three fans, if you have the money to invest in one. It won't cure your heating issue, but it should help some what. Just mentioning it as a friend of mine invested in one for her laptop a while ago, and it made a noticeable difference in her laptop's performance.

 

I hope you get this sorted out :)

Edited August 15, 2011 by Druuler

[PederDingo]

Its brand new so it is not clogged up. It's an i5 2410 with a Geforce 540M 2 gig card - and 64 bit win7 so I am looking into sorting the memory leak issue, which might be adding to all of this. I am having some problems with it and made a comment on the Large Adress Aware Enabler download here on the nexus.

 

I did a homemade solution though. I underclocked the CPU to use only 75% of its power (easily done with software) so the CPU hits a maximum of 75 degrees after hours of playing FO3, and because of the relative strength of the GPU I only see a 4-5 drop in the FPS in fraps (the GPU still stays around 80, but I am fine with that). Clever, huh? And I am going to get the "targus lap chill mat" or whatever and then gradually turn up the juice on the CPU while using the coller, still aiming at a max temp of 75. Only 2 weeks ago I made the switch from Mac to PC, so quite a nice solution, huh? And I came up with it all by myself:-)

[BlackRampage]

Its brand new so it is not clogged up. It's an i5 2410 with a Geforce 540M 2 gig card - and 64 bit win7 so I am looking into sorting the memory leak issue, which might be adding to all of this. I am having some problems with it and made a comment on the Large Adress Aware Enabler download here on the nexus.

I'm afraid you misunderstand. The large address aware enabler does nothing to fix the memory leak. It just lets FO3 to use all of your RAM instead of only 2 gigs, because it's a 32 bit game.

As for the memory leak itself: You're welcome to look into it, but it simply cannot be fixed. (other then by Bethesda)

If you want to know more: Fallout 3 and Win 7 64 Bit