Fallout 3 on a Socket 478 P4 2.4 GHZ

[MansturNurlman]

Hello. I inherited an old P4 478. I have Fallout 3 running and the framerate is choppy as hell. I am running XP and have installed a legacy version of Nexus mod Manager. I am trying to figure out how to get it to load the no fog and choppiness mods. Io was hoping someone could help guide me through this last stage of the process to getting this game playable. Thanks.

[leonardo2]

I don't play FO3, but seriously why using NMM when the amount of available RAM is limited when playing the game. Also, what video card are you using?

 

If I were you I would get rid of NMM and start using Valda's Wrye Flash I think or Wrye Bash (is the latest stable and the most recent update is the last link in the 2nd post).

[Mktavish]

Well it is encouraging that you have it running albeit choppy :thumbsup:

 

I wonder if this old dusty thing might help you ?

 

http://www.tweakguides.com/Fallout3_1.html

 

And there may be some stuff in this gopher vid incase you have never seen it.

 

 

But are you sure all your other stuff meets the minimum requirement ?

[GamerRick]

There are things you can do to make it play better:

 

Step 1 - Unpack the BSA with the textures in it to a different location than the game files using FO3 Archive Utility You could then copy the data\textures\ directory onto the new one to include all loose files that have been added by other mods.

 

Step 2 - Run Optimizer Textures on the textures\ directory you just created. Choose the maximum profile and set the last check box item to resize down everything > 512. This program will also fix a lot of texture problems, like adding mip maps and removing unneeded alpha channels. You can then run Optimizer Textures on any subdirectory to further reduce them.

 

I run Optimizer Textures on all mods that are texture replacers or include their own.

[MansturNurlman]

 

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIAA8S4AJ3285

 

Hey guys. Thanks for the responses. i am just going over them. This is the video card I bought. i think I got the last one on Newegg. Brand new.

[MansturNurlman]

What is BSA? Does Wyre Bash work on Windows XP?

As far as I understand I meet the system requirements. It is technically working. My graphics card is a 1 GB PCI version of a GeForce 9400 GT. The game only requires 256 MB. The card is Direct X 10 capable. The game says it needs 2.4 Ghz which is what my P4 478 has.

 

I appreciate your replying. I picked NMM because it was obsolete enough to run. I have not been able to figure out how to get it to work. I am going to keep reading and trying stuff. Any advice would be appreciated. I am coming at this from square one of knowing what I am doing.

[M48A5]

BSA=Bethesda Softworks Archive. Used in the game to hold large files.

 

Yes, your equipment does meet the minimum requirements, but that does not mean you can run the game with high quality graphics or at a high frame rate.

 

My belief is that you would be better served using Fallout Mod Manager (FOMM) to mod Fallout games. It was developed for use with the Fallout games and does not try to be all things for all games.

[Mktavish]

I'd be willing to bet your video detect , from FalloutLauncher.exe is setting it to high .

so first try picking one of the lower settings , or start from lowest. Then you can fine tune stuff from the advanced settings.

Bringing up stuff like "Actor Fade" for starters. But just experiment a bit with those.

 

Then start looking at other fixes to improve performance.

 

The optimizer textures mentioned by GamerRick is a good down the road solution to find some balance of quality / performance. But start simple ... then get more complex.

 

What mods were you referring to specifically with the fog remover and stuttering fix ?

 

Cuz the fog remover I found "https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/18457/"

Looks like it just deletes effects records from "Fallout3.esm"

Which I would guess can create some instability ... albeit might work under most circumstances ???

Anyways , I would try to cull what gets rendered in the pipeline vs getting rid of stuff before it enters the pipeline.

 

Just my 2cp anyways.

[MansturNurlman]

Every setting is on the lowest possible setting at 800x600. I have the draw distance at moderate settings for the grass and stuff. The frame rate drops and stuttering are virtually identical at a slightly higher resolution and in widescreen.

 

I have never played Fallout 3 and I thought it would be fun to do on an old machine like this. I have 2 GB of RAM at 200 mhz.

 

Someone suggested this fog mod would help with my frame rate drops as well at this other stuttering mod.

 

https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/18457

 

https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/8886

 

I have a version of NMM installed and running. I just need to figure out how to get it to work The UI is confusing me. That is what i was hoping for help with in addition to any suggestions about hwo to get this thing working in a playable state. I am on level 5 now. It kind of works but isn't very fun.

[GamerRick]

Check out this mod: Low Res Textures