Played Fallout 3, Time To Mod: A Newbie's Story

[Metallica93]

I am brand new to mods. I've heard of them since who knows when, but I never actually needed to mess around with any of them up until I wanted to replay Fallout 3. My original intent was to stick to the vanilla game as much as possible and only tweak realism factors, but I don't know how much control I have over the mods. Nevertheless, my questions about them, thus far:

 

- If I download (whatever) mod(s) can I have one save file for the modded game and another for the vanilla game? Don't know if the mod essentially takes over or if I can toggle it/them on and off.

 

I believe the majority of my questions can be answered via the main FAQ page on either Nexus or the Fallout Wiki forums, but if I think of anything else I'll edit this post.

 

That being said, what mod(s) would you guys recommend for tweaking realism? A short list of what I'm looking for:

 

- Carrying weight being cut down

- Ammo having weight

- Only being able to carry a reasonable amount of ammunition, weapons, and apparel

- Not being able to abuse stimpacks and other items

- Being fair about buying/selling/trading (and not having 60,000+ bottle caps early in the game)

- Utilizing a doctor instead of literally sleeping everything off

- Skills/perks/SPECIAL being within acceptable parameters (set a ceiling for skill points, not having 200+ skill books lying around, not being a tank with a jacked SPECIAL and overpowered perks)

- Limited use of VATS (notice limited use vs. not using it at all)

- Something to make repairing more realistic (being near a workbench vs. in the middle of combat)

- Having to actually eat food and drink water on a somewhat reasonable basis

 

Any other recommendations are highly welcomed. Like I said, I'm new. Perhaps there's a mod with new quests that people seem to enjoy? Or maybe adding new armor/weapons/etc to the base game DOES add something different to the Fallout experience.

[omegaspectre]

You can't have two saves with one for mods one without but you can toggle them on/off whenever you want. You can use the "Data Files" option in the Fallout 3 Launcher to enable/disable mods. Although I recommend you use Fallout Mod Manager http://fallout3.nexusmods.com/mods/640 as it means you don't have to put the disc in each time you play. I use version 0_12_5 of Fallout Mod Manager (FOMM). Just make sure you put the mods in your Data folder, found in your Fallout 3 Installation directory.

 

I don't know many realism mods as I don't use them but I can tell you that some of the stuff you listed is simple GECK work, and could be made in 5-10 minutes if you have some basic knowledge of the GECK. I presume you don't so here: http://geck.bethsoft.com/index.php/Main_Page

 

Message me if you need any more assistance.

 

Hope that helps,

Omegaspectre.

[caramellcube]

Have you tried Fallout Wanderer's Edition?

[Metallica93]

I don't know many realism mods as I don't use them but I can tell you that some of the stuff you listed is simple GECK work, and could be made in 5-10 minutes if you have some basic knowledge of the GECK. I presume you don't so here: http://geck.bethsoft.com/index.php/Main_Page

 

Message me if you need any more assistance.

 

Hope that helps,

Omegaspectre.

 

You presume correctly, sir. Thanks for the G.E.C.K. info. You also mentioned that "some of the stuff listed is simple GECK work." Not to bust your chops here, but any specific examples come to mind?

 

Have you tried Fallout Wanderer's Edition?

 

FWE was what I was recommended, but I don't know how adjustable and customizable it is. I'm trying to stay close to the vanilla game so I don't want or need more guns, armor, etc. Essentially, it boils down to whether or not I can turn all facets of FWE off except the ones that tweak realism. Slightly more realism is my initial goal. I will mess with mods more once I accomplish that feat.

 

Thanks for the helpful responses, thus far. Looks like I've got a lot of clicking and knowledge absorption ahead of me. Hopefully this will expand my horizons in terms of software knowledge, as well. Usually I'm staring at my computer like so :psyduck:

[Overcast73]

I don't know many realism mods as I don't use them but I can tell you that some of the stuff you listed is simple GECK work, and could be made in 5-10 minutes if you have some basic knowledge of the GECK. I presume you don't so here: http://geck.bethsoft.com/index.php/Main_Page

 

Message me if you need any more assistance.

 

Hope that helps,

Omegaspectre.

 

You presume correctly, sir. Thanks for the G.E.C.K. info. You also mentioned that "some of the stuff listed is simple GECK work." Not to bust your chops here, but any specific examples come to mind?

 

Have you tried Fallout Wanderer's Edition?

 

FWE was what I was recommended, but I don't know how adjustable and customizable it is. I'm trying to stay close to the vanilla game so I don't want or need more guns, armor, etc. Essentially, it boils down to whether or not I can turn all facets of FWE off except the ones that tweak realism. Slightly more realism is my initial goal. I will mess with mods more once I accomplish that feat.

 

Thanks for the helpful responses, thus far. Looks like I've got a lot of clicking and knowledge absorption ahead of me. Hopefully this will expand my horizons in terms of software knowledge, as well. Usually I'm staring at my computer like so :psyduck:

 

FWE is quite editable. 'Arwen's realism mod' is hardcore.

 

FWE adds weapons, but most are quite within the realm of 'vanilla damage' - with a couple of goofy exceptions. The Pancor Jackhammer and the H&K CAWS do immense - way out of proportion damage. I just get rid of them when I find them.

 

I'm not 100% sure if FWE can disable the extra weapons, but it does have tons of options. You could very well go into the GECK and just delete those guns too.

 

FWE and Arwen's are both somewhat meant to be played from a new game on, really. I tried both, but I can't "click" with the water thing in Arwen's - the problem is that you have to fill certain kinds of water bottles with certain kinds of water - that's kind of unrealistic I think, really, I could fill any water bottle with anything. But the problem comes when you boil water to purify it - it turns all the dirty water bottles to 'pure' and then won't let you refill with dirty water again, even though the intent is to boil it again. I would sav overall Arwen's is the best for *realism* - FWE strikes a good balance between realism and playability.

 

You can - however... Copy your fallout folder. Then make a folder for 'mods' and one for 'non-mods'. Of course, you'll have to rename them to the directory it was installed under for it to work. Of course, I'm not sure if that plays nice with Steam or not - but it should.

 

Also, if you haven't - get Fallout Mod Manager :)

 

Oh and...

 

- Carrying weight being cut down

- Ammo having weight

- Only being able to carry a reasonable amount of ammunition, weapons, and apparel

- Not being able to abuse stimpacks and other items

- Being fair about buying/selling/trading (and not having 60,000+ bottle caps early in the game)

- Utilizing a doctor instead of literally sleeping everything off

- Skills/perks/SPECIAL being within acceptable parameters (set a ceiling for skill points, not having 200+ skill books lying around, not being a tank with a jacked SPECIAL and overpowered perks)

- Limited use of VATS (notice limited use vs. not using it at all)

- Something to make repairing more realistic (being near a workbench vs. in the middle of combat)

- Having to actually eat food and drink water on a somewhat reasonable basis

 

FEW Adds ammo weight, limits carry weight some, stimpacks work 'over time' so you can't just jack up to 100% health using the PipBoy, the barter skill plays a much heavier role - so you'll struggle for caps at first, you can still sleep off damage with both mods, PERKS are changed, and for both the SPECIAL numbers mean more. Arwen's is much the same, but much more 'hardcore' in all regards to the above.

 

Arwen's limits the VATS heavily - or can, FWE if it does have an option, I've never used it.

 

They both take food/water into consideration. Arwen's is much more restrictive on that. FWE is a balance there too.

 

Either way - before you apply mods - make a backup copy.. :) And keep the copy until you play the mods for a little while, sometimes you won't find bugs until later. Personally, I'll apply one or two mods and play the game for a while to see if any big problems are evident. Applying 30 mods at once - well, make sure you have a full backup copy.

 

This one stupid mod ended up cutting out the dialogue on the last major 'vanilla' quest for me! Sadly, it was my mod, lol - but it was never uploaded, so... :)

 

Of course, simply disabling the mod and re-loading the game fixed the problem quickly.

Edited April 12, 2012 by Overcast73

[Metallica93]

OK, so I think the next logical question would be "How much can I alter with the G.E.C.K.?" I had it downloaded (on accident) at one point so I'm sure I can do it again. It also seems like the least amount of work and hassle (compared to downloading everything for the mods and all that jazz) so I think that would be the pivotal starting point for someone in my position.

[Overcast73]

OK, so I think the next logical question would be "How much can I alter with the G.E.C.K.?" I had it downloaded (on accident) at one point so I'm sure I can do it again. It also seems like the least amount of work and hassle (compared to downloading everything for the mods and all that jazz) so I think that would be the pivotal starting point for someone in my position.

 

Here's a good starting point: http://geck.bethsoft.com/index.php/Bethsoft_Tutorial_GECK_Setup

 

As for how much you can mod with the GECK? Depends on the limits of your imagination, and well mostly - time.. :)

 

It is time consuming; but perhaps mostly on the learning curve at first, then later if you want to do some really crazy stuff - it would be far faster to download mods and get them working. Overall; that's usually not hard. Sort by the number of endorsements for your first couple mods - the chances of mods with high numbers of endorsements causing issues is lessened, just by virtue of the many people willing to endorse it as 'good'.

 

But I think many modders have a creative spirit. I get in these moods where I'm feeling far more 'creative' than 'destructive'. Which to me is a beautiful thing about Bethesda's games. If I'm feeling creative, I fire up the GECK, if I need to blow off some steam, I fire up the game! :) But often I get more 'into' modding than even playing.

 

With some others tools (GIMP, Blender, NIFScope, etc...) I'm not sure there are many limitations on what you can do at all. Short of modifying the engine itself, but since the GECK is so powerful in terms of modding content, it's practically limitless. But do realize in order to do Textures, Meshes and such - other tools are required, but you can find free versions of all of them.

 

You can add infinite amounts of levels, new models, new art, new sounds, custom scripts. Maybe the best way to get an idea is browse the mods on this site, and even then, I'm sure there are some fantastic ideas yet to be done. There are some limitations you'll learn as you go along, but then there are also creative ways to still implement your ideas.

 

If you have a vision for something and really want it - go for it. The above link will take you to the GECK Wiki, between that and the videos out there (can find links on the Wiki) you can learn a great deal - so that 'Vault74' tutorial, it's a great start - gets you used to using the GECK.

[Metallica93]

[see post below] Edited April 15, 2012 by Metallica93

[Metallica93]

I'm getting the hang of the whole G.E.C.K. thing. For me, it's just a bunch of renaming, changing numbers, and being picky. I've accomplished small feats like making the Explorer and Here and Now perks hidden (don't want them in the game), lowering the amount of A.P. Grim Reaper's Sprint gives you back per V.A.T.S. kill (only 10 A.P.), reducing the skill and percent bonuses of some perks, skills, and bobble heads, and making almost everything have weight. This is some cool stuff. These little changes will have huge implications on my next play through.

 

Sad part: I was trying to make the radiation system a little more realistic by changing up when you were negatively impacted (reduced Strength, Endurance, Agility, etc), but now everything under the "Count" tab has a zero, a small 'x' as an exponent, followed by an uppercase 'D.' I didn't want to delete them, but I'm confused as to what to do now. Perhaps I can't mess with those because they're part of the base game? Not sure.

 

A question from my previous post still stands, though. Do I load the vanilla game AND my mod in the "Data Files" or do I ONLY load my mod? It seems odd to load both because my mod is messing with the base game; it's not an addition or anything.

 

Thanks in advance for any help, guys.

 

EDIT: I also changed the damage a pistol, for example, can do (from 6 to 10, I believe) and the game doesn't show the change.

Edited April 14, 2012 by Metallica93

[Metallica93]

"Bump."

 

Apologies for seeming impatient :unsure: