Realism/Replayability Suggestions (& THANKS)

[tetradite]

Hi all, first off a MASSIVE thanks to everyone who's contributed mods to the Nexus - I've downloaded tons (some to use, some to pick apart to work out how to do more mods for myself) there will be a lot of endorsements handed out once I've had a full game run through with some of these, or finished what I'm creating myself by standing on the shoulders of giants.

 

What I'm looking for is some suggestions of anything I have missed that I should definitely try out.....

 

I'm looking for anything that's going to increase replayability, and also difficulty but more through added realism and immersion than by adding a million new things to kill, and nothing too wildly non-lore. I don't care if I even make the game so damn hard that I can't finish it, as long as that's due to general realism not combat difficulty.

 

I've probably got most or all of what I want already, but unfortunately I played this to death on the xbox then got a PC copy just because I found the GECK, so I wanted a big overhaul and don't want to miss anything as I've probably only got a limited number of new games left in me!)

 

 

My first picks were all just for immersion and variation from what I am used to:

 

Nevada Skies (coupled with Light My Flare and a piplight mod),

Detailed Normals,

FNV Enhanced Shaders,

NMCs texture pack,

Mikoto Beauty & Wasters Overhaul,

Caliber & Ahzteks Weapon Overhaul

 

 

From there I've tried to get as many decent realism/difficulty mods as possible:

 

Imps More Complex Needs,

Bartertown,

No Fast Travel (coupled with Motorcycle Travel - not the driveable one),

Realistic Encumbrance,

Slower XP,

Increased Weapon Jamming.

 

 

To add a realistic and partial counter to the added difficulty these bring I'm working on these mods for myself, based on what others have already done:

 

A rejigged version of the Brahmin Companion (still with a relatively high carry weight, but initially purchased rather than cost-free recruited, non-essential and replaceable at a high cost if you get it killed),

A very basic camp set (no auto-docs, sniper nests etc, just a tent, campfire, bed and the like with realistic weights),

A backpack that isn't a container - just adds carry weight to the player at the expense of an AP and Agility penalties.

 

 

Then finally, just for added new stuff to do:

 

Goodsprings Filler,

New Bison Steve Hotel,

Express Delivery,

Willow Companion.

 

 

So, have I missed anything I ought to be using? Also I'd appreciate if anyone knows of any definite conflicts with the above - I'm pretty certain I've avoided anything that alters the same things, excepting maybe the last 4 listed as I have no idea what cells these alter for their quests and don't want to find out before I've played them, unless chucking them all in the mix is definitely likely to cause problems.

[Fatalmasterpiece]

You haven't tried Project Nevada yet?

[tetradite]

I hadn't because I couldn't get NVSE to work... have been limiting myself no only mods not requiring NVSE...

 

Then today I re-read the NVSE instructions and spot that it has a launcher, cue epic facepalm and me now going back to rifle through all the most endorsed mods to reconsider everything I previously skipped over because it required NVSE...

 

This is what you get for trying to d/l, install and quick-test 80 different things at the same time!

[Fatalmasterpiece]

Lol yeah. Best bet is to use FOMM which has functionality for FO3 and NV, launching through this utility automaticly uses NVSE as long as you have installed it correctly. This is pretty much as easy as making sure the game/file versions are compatible and dropping it into the game dir.

 

There are a ton of great mods out there using NVSE and personaly I've never had any major difficulty with it since it's automatic with FOMM.

 

Also I recommend getting NVEdit and creating a merged mod for yourself. This will help with compatibility in mods which effect the same things, like npcs for example.

 

That said Project is a great mod, one of my most loved since FO3WE

[tetradite]

Hmmm, have been using FOMM since pretty much day 1, I must have just botched installing it before then, or whatever mod I initially tested with it was to blame, 'cos it works fine now and I've run no updates since.

 

Toying with the idea of getting FO3. NV is my first and only Fallout game, and I'd love to try more but sometimes it's hard to go backwards without it ending in disappointment if you know what I mean.

[Fatalmasterpiece]

Yeah, imo FO3 is worth it. Fallout 3 is much larger world size wise, has a darker more immersive feeling and has a higher fear factor. If you like hardcore mods then doing quests like the Super Duper mart is actually quite scary the first few times you run it.

 

However New Vegas is better mechanicly, having built in hardcore and ironsights etc. The NPCs are also better and more fleshed out. The companions in FO3 don't really have quests or anything.

[kevkiev]

From the first batch of mods you list, I take it that you feel good visuals is a big part of immersion. I totally agree.

 

On that note, I'd suggest looking at:

 

Ojo Bueno textures (or Poco Bueno, or a mix of both, depending on your system specs): overlays nicely on top of NMCs stuff. I especially love Ojo/Poco's sandy terrain rather than NMC's hard cracked ground. The Ojo vegetation is superb, and I like the rocks better too as (imo) they fit in better with the desert environment.

Mental Gear's clutter pack ("MGs Neat Clutter Retextures"): from the "little things make a big difference" dept. Especially with the recent V6, the visual impact of improved textures for the many little clutter items he redid is, imo, quite huge. In fact, I'd classify this one as a "must have."

Hectrol's various retextures: he's got quite a few; definitely worth checking out.

 

I've been running NMC (large) overlayed with mainly high-res OJO (a few ultra-high ones here and there), MG's clutter and a smattering of Hectrol stuff for awhile, and recently DL'd URWLified Nevada Skies - believe me, it's a sight to behold. And, with the 4GB enabler and NV Stutter Remover, there's literally no impact on my system's performance.

 

edit: oh, there's also the Hi-Res Chems and Health retexts of the various chem/med items. Really pretty stuff.

 

Edit2: and also Neck Seam Concealer Chains to get rid of that ugly neck seam on your char and human followers.

Edited January 29, 2012 by kevkiev

[Jeoshua]

Fo3 is actually not any larger at all in terms of playable size. On that front, New Vegas and Fo3 are equivallent.

 

Fallout 3 does contain more stuff, and is more mountainous, so it appears much much larger and more populated, but it's really just an illusion.

[tetradite]

Yeah, imo FO3 is worth it. Fallout 3 is much larger world size wise, has a darker more immersive feeling and has a higher fear factor. If you like hardcore mods then doing quests like the Super Duper mart is actually quite scary the first few times you run it.

 

However New Vegas is better mechanicly, having built in hardcore and ironsights etc. The NPCs are also better and more fleshed out. The companions in FO3 don't really have quests or anything.

 

Sounds like a mixed bag then! I really did love the followers in NV (esp Cass & Boone) for their quests which felt more real, immersive and believeable than the main story arc to me, but if you mean FO3 is dark/scary in a Half Life 2 Ravenholme (I think it was Ravenholme it's been a while) kind of way then that would probably more than make up for it. That section of HL2 scared the bejeebus out of me first time I played it.

 

 

From the first batch of mods you list, I take it that you feel good visuals is a big part of immersion. I totally agree.

 

On that note, I'd suggest looking at:

 

Ojo Bueno textures (or Poco Bueno, or a mix of both, depending on your system specs): overlays nicely on top of NMCs stuff. I especially love Ojo/Poco's sandy terrain rather than NMC's hard cracked ground. The Ojo vegetation is superb, and I like the rocks better too as (imo) they fit in better with the desert environment.

Mental Gear's clutter pack ("MGs Neat Clutter Retextures"): from the "little things make a big difference" dept. Especially with the recent V6, the visual impact of improved textures for the many little clutter items he redid is, imo, quite huge. In fact, I'd classify this one as a "must have."

Hectrol's various retextures: he's got quite a few; definitely worth checking out.

 

I've been running NMC (large) overlayed with mainly high-res OJO (a few ultra-high ones here and there), MG's clutter and a smattering of Hectrol stuff for awhile, and recently DL'd URWLified Nevada Skies - believe me, it's a sight to behold. And, with the 4GB enabler and NV Stutter Remover, there's literally no impact on my system's performance.

 

edit: oh, there's also the Hi-Res Chems and Health retexts of the various chem/med items. Really pretty stuff.

 

Edit2: and also Neck Seam Concealer Chains to get rid of that ugly neck seam on your char and human followers.

 

I do agree, it's definitely why I got Nevada Skies, although my primary motivation was change for change's sake with the texture changes - just to not be looking at the same stuff I've already spent so many hours looking at! Unfortunately not sure my system will handle much more, and definitely not higher res - I'm running NMC small and things are fine 99.9% of the time, but can already start to get sticky when there's a lot going on or in some particularly busy wasteland areas. I'll give NV Stutter a try (big thanks for the heads up on that one, one off my "I'll get that later" list that I'd totally forgotten about) and if that remedies the areas where I already have warning signs of being underpowered then I'll probably stick MGs Neat Clutter Retextures into the mix (that one I had never spotted and is exactly what I'm looking for so big thanks there) and if I've got any performance at all left to spare start looking at Hectrol's - definitely agreed that the little things make a big difference - some of the vanilla textures are particularly bad when they're set against improved textures elsewhere. I really really need a new machine, unfortunately blew my new PC budget on power tools for a recent project. Knew I'd regret it but had to be done, sometimes remaking the real world unfortunately takes precendence.

 

I've honestly never noticed the neck-seam issue, but then I do tend to bury myself and followers in a million layers of clothing - end up looking like Tusken Raiders at a flea market/jumble sale most of the time.

 

Big thanks for the replies everyone. :)