I want to install a particular mod configuration, can you help me?

[Sirlancelot2011]

Hi there. Back in the day I played New Vegas with Arwen Realism Tweaks along two or three more mods, and enjoyed the experience. Now I'd like a simmilar configuration but taking into account the newer and I hope improved modifications that have seen the light of the day in the meantime.

 

My priorities:

 

1. Stability, bug fixes, balance and a lore friendly game. No glitches, no sttutering, no exploits, not overpowered elements or dominant strategies and so on.

 

2. AI enhancements

 

3. More challenge and realism

 

4. Graphical improvements.

 

For the first section, I was thinking about following https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1345775279 , as a reference.

 

For the second and subsequent categories, I'm afraid I'm quite lost. I just took a look over https://www.reddit.com/r/fnv/comments/7v6wsp/enemy_ai_mods_that_arent_broken/ , which discuss about AI modifications.

 

So, would you lend me a hand? Mod lists recommendations, reflections... all is welcome.

[dubiousintent]

I'm not familiar with that particular guide, but from a quick glance it suffers from the same problems as most I've seen: it makes many assumptions about what you already know and that an understanding of "why" particular mods is not needed. In addition, it is a "snapshot" of information available at that time and not maintained over the long haul.

 

I recommend anyone read the entire "FNV General Mod Use Advice" article to understand the differences between this game and others you may have experience with; especially if this is your first attempt to play a modded FNV or it's been more than a year since you last did so. This and the accompanying wiki "Fallout NV Mod Conflict Troubleshooting" guide have been continuously updated for the last 5.years starting from the assumption you are new to modding PC games in general. Only then refer to other guides for additional suggestions. I wrote both after I was successful in researching and building a stable game that ran with no problems from day one despite those gaps in other guides just to save others the research time.

Re: Mod recommendations. "Best" is so subjective and "personal preference" I refuse to get into the argument. "Endorsements" is as good a gauge of overall community reaction/acceptance of any mod as you are going to find. Just remember that older mods have had more time to accumulate endorsements compared to newer ones. But newer mods are generally in reaction to perceived issues with older ones that someone felt strongly enough to spend a lot of effort to create. Personally I judge them first on the description, then on reading the "Comments" tab to find what those issues are, and finally on the ratio of "number of downloads" to the "number of endorsements". (I only consider the age of a mod when there are several on the same theme.) There isn't any "magic ratio", but a high download count but relatively low number of endorsements suggest most who tried it didn't find what the description led them to expect. Comments usually help clarify that. But again, so much depends upon what you are looking for. Many "gems" just never found the audience they deserved.

Bear in mind that FNV has an effective "plugin cap" around 140. Consequently most players have experience with only a limited number of mods, and if they go heavily in one direction (for instance "graphics") then they have to give up others. Which is (IMHO) why "endorsements to downloads" ratio is a more objective recommendation.

 

-Dubious-

[Mktavish]

With that list of wants ... even with the addition of mod paks.

You are not going to get there without a lot of self experiment / testing.

 

Which many geck users enjoy at this point ... because they have spent the time to understand the intricacies of the engine. Albeit learning the geck/engine will change your wants and desires.

 

It is a long journey in short :ohmy: but worth it imo :ninja:

[Sirlancelot2011]

I recommend anyone read the entire "FNV General Mod Use Advice" article to understand the differences between this game and others you may have experience with; especially if this is your first attempt to play a modded FNV or it's been more than a year since you last did so. This and the accompanying wiki "Fallout NV Mod Conflict Troubleshooting" guide have been continuously updated for the last 5.years starting from the assumption you are new to modding PC games in general. Only then refer to other guides for additional suggestions. I wrote both after I was successful in researching and building a stable game that ran with no problems from day one despite those gaps in other guides just to save others the research time.

 

Regrettably, I'm not new to modding at all. I have already modded Skyrim, Oblivion, Fallout 3, Fallout New Vegas, XCOM II, King's Bounty, Baldur's Gate I and II, etc, at different stages of my life. Hence the lecture you recommend sounds honestly like a chore to me. BUT, if you're confident that I need that previous step, then I'll go forward. Nothing can be worse than the never-ending documentation readings needed to change Skyrim.

 

By the way, kudos for such guides, they have probably helped many people already.

 

With that list of wants ... even with the addition of mod paks.

You are not going to get there without a lot of self experiment / testing.

 

Which many geck users enjoy at this point ... because they have spent the time to understand the intricacies of the engine. Albeit learning the geck/engine will change your wants and desires.

 

It is a long journey in short :ohmy: but worth it imo :ninja:

 

For God's sake, I really hope won't be forced to turn into an expert of the engine to enjoy mods as a player.

 

Anyway, thanks for your thoughts on the matter.

Edited November 3, 2019 by Sirlancelot2011

[dubiousintent]

While I'm sure you could work your way through things with that experience, I had similar when I started and it still took over a week of full time research to properly get started. (I was retired by then and had the time.) You should find it easy enough to skim through the "Terminology" section, but the rest covers things (like the lower "plugin cap") which will trip you up. Wading through a "lecture" is still faster than having to search the web for every unexpected issue someone else has already identified, solved, and brought together in one place.

 

-Dubious-

[Sirlancelot2011]

While I'm sure you could work your way through things with that experience, I had similar when I started and it still took over a week of full time research to properly get started. (I was retired by then and had the time.) You should find it easy enough to skim through the "Terminology" section, but the rest covers things (like the lower "plugin cap") which will trip you up. Wading through a "lecture" is still faster than having to search the web for every unexpected issue someone else has already identified, solved, and brought together in one place.

 

-Dubious-

 

Very well then, time to study a bit, although some mod lists recommendations would still truly come in handy (and the explanations for the choices made)

 

Sorry for the inadequate phrasing, english is not my native tongue. ;)

[Mktavish]

Sorry for the inadequate phrasing, english is not my native tongue. :wink:

 

 

No worries ... you did fine ,I did not notice ... and with that impressive list of games modded.

You are definitely ahead on the learning curve.

 

And remember you don't need to be an expert with the tools ... just a little better than rookie on the points you want to adjust.

The Geck is a vast bunch of probabilities that not everybody learn everything. Just what you want to do.

 

I would suggest , you spend time to do your own modding of how you want the game to run. Writing a screenplay format is good for self , and good to express to others for what you want to happen.

That way you will know it inside and out.

Barring the graphical requests ... if you are like me , let those be what you borrow from other mod users. Get them running stable ... then take the Geck and tailor your modded game experience. Instead of loading umpteen mods with pieces you think you want.

 

You want something on something (hard to guess)

You just open the geck and get it done in an .esp of an on going mix mod you created.

But word to the wise ... create a separate file to test and figure out the end product you want to see (including a test save file)