[Fallout] Cloudy with a chance of Fallout

Lowco + Fallout = Awesome sauce. In my opinion, Lowco + Modded Fallout = Awesomer sauce. So I thought I'd make a thread with my suggestions on how to make the awesomest Fallout stream sauce. Whether you disagree or agree, please do weigh in. I think it would be nice if we had one spot for Lowco to see our thoughts on what we want to see when she does decide to play a Fallout game.

Also...I may have had so many thoughts on the subject that I decided to write them up as a book. It seemed like a good idea at the time. I am going to clean up the post and use a spoiler, though there are no actual spoilers in the book.

Spoiler: Cloudy with a chance of Fallout

Cloudy with a chance of Fallout
By OldSchoolGentleman

A book of helpful non-spoilery tips compiled to begin a conversation about how to prepare for the best Fallout stream possible.

Praise for Cloudy with a chance of Fallout:
"Makes me want an Apocalypse" - New York Times
"As usual, we cannot top the NYT's praise" - Washington Post

Dedicated to: The channel mods, the channel subs, the channel lurkers, the channel trolls, Twitch for existing, Gopher for making excellent mod tutorials, Grumpy Cat, and our fearless leader, Fred.

Prologue: Ok, ok, a Fallout stream is barely on the stream radar, why am I writing a whole book about this? The answer is simple, the Fallout games were designed for consoles and the adaption for PC was a modest effort. The fundamentals of the games remained, and therefore they were still a blast to play, but the developers were not overly concerned about taking the PC platform game to its full potential since the modding community was going to go crazy doing that any way. What us PC gamers received was a game that played well enough, but lacked the visuals and complex gameplay elements that were commonplace on most of our other games. The developers redeemed themselves by making Fallout 3 and Fallout New Vegas two of the easiest games to mod, going so far as to include a "creation kit" that essentially gave anyone the same tools they used to make the game. The modding community responded by creating nearly 14,000 mods for Fallout 3 and even more for Fallout New Vegas (figures as of this writing). PC gamers now have more than enough files at their disposal to enhance their Fallout gaming experience to any level they desire. In fact, they have so many choices that modding has become something of a two sided coin - one can easily get carried away with installing mods and cause undesired gameplay issues. This just means that someone new to modding might want to take things a step at a time and make sure each mod works before moving on to the next. This is especially important for anyone planning to stream either game - the right balance between enhanced gameplay and stability is crucial. There you have my reason for writing this book well in advance of any Fallout stream, doing so allows us all to share our thoughts about which game should be played, which mods would make for a cool stream, and how to get the balance right the first time.

Chapter 1: The great debate

Although this book will apply to both Fallout 3 and New Vegas, we can unfortunately only play one game at a time. Fallout 3 is the purists game. It is darker, more harsh, and you get the feeling people barely want to exist in this world. Fallout New Vegas is noticeably brighter, and people for the most part have meaningful productive, and many times interesting lives. The quests in each game reflect the setting, and each game is very much a stand-alone story. If you are in the mood for a bleak story, go for Fallout 3, if you want something jazzier, go with New Vegas.

Chapter 2: So...you're telling me this might not even work out of the box?

Before we even get started, it is important to test the vanilla game. Weird mouse issues and autosave crashes are common, more so in Windows 8. So boot up the game, test autosave, make sure your inputs are doing what you want, etc. If your frames are low, any less than 60, there are plenty of mods/tips out there that can help. Google is your friend here. I am sure you can run these games at max settings if your PC was built in the last 5 years. Crashing every 5 minutes or so is a very common issue in Fallout 3. To fix it, you just need to do a simple .ini file edit:
Find the line:
bUseThreadedAI=0
change it to:
bUseThreadedAI=1
Add another line after it and insert:
iNumHWThreads=2
Save and close the file.

Chapter 3: Always have an escape plan

Now that the OP bugs are sorted, we can begin the process of enhancing the games. First things first, find your data folder, make a copy of it, and keep it somewhere safe, preferably away from Grumpy Cat as I hear he likes to tear up important documents. Got that done? Good, let's move on. There are plenty of mods out there that are plug and play, but others need a slight tweak to the base game to integrate properly. You will definitely want a program like 7zip installed, plus the Nexus Mod Manager application (self explanatory). You should also go ahead and install the script extender for your game (Fallout 3: FOSE, New Vegas: NVSE). These allow for additional key binding. FOSE also disables Games for Windows Live, a very annoying and obtrusive DRM. These should all be easy to find on google, then download, run, and done.

Chapter 4: It starts, but it doesn't run well

In addition to the crashing issues mentioned in Chapter 2, Fallout 3 has a tendency to stutter. This can be fixed with the Fallout stutter remover mod. Although Fallout 3 and New Vegas came out years ago, there are still bugs even in the latest version. If you want to be sure you won't run in to any broken quests, both Fallout 3 and New Vegas have an "unofficial patch" mod. You can check their respective pages for a list of what they fix.

Chapter 5: Fun with terms and conditions

If you thought playing Outlast was scary, try scrolling through the vanilla Fallout menus on PC. Its like trying to find something useful within the apple terms and conditions popup window. The underlying problem is that the font is too large for a PC screen. Smaller font solves the problem, though changing font size is not an option in the vanilla game. The recommended mod/program to fix this is called Darnified UI. Install it and your viewers will now actually be able to read the subtitles and menus as you play the game. Note that before you install this mod you should download and install a mod called UIO, it will make the Darnified UI install much simpler and will also help install other HUD mods should you choose to add more.

Chapter 6: Why does it look like I got skunk spray in my eyes?

The vanilla Fallout 3 environment is depressing, as it should be. But depressing can also be impressive, with the right lighting, coloring, and other visual effects. The OEM Fallout 3 environment has none of those qualities and is always the same drab color palette. Lucky for PC users, one mod changes all that. It is called Project Reality and it, along with its New Vegas and Skyrim variants, is likely this author's favorite mod. It makes each of these games jaw-droopingly gorgeous and it does so while respecting the aura of the original game and without any noticeable performance impact. Whenever you happen across a view to a post-apocalyptic sunset, you will be wondering if it is the magnificence of this mod or the severe radiation poisoning that is making your mouth and eyes water. It may well be some of both.

Chapter 7: Learning how to hold a weapon

While just about everything in the Fallout world can be used as a weapon, there is a certain gratification that can only be achieved by looking down the sight of a good old fashioned rifle, pulling the trigger, and watching as your .32 caliber piece of lead finds its target square in the middle of a ne'er-do-weller's grimy face, the resulting contact turning their brain-holder into a Pollock-esque red mist. If you are playing New Vegas, then you are all set to enjoy as many of these glorious moments as you see fit. If you are playing Fallout 3, you won't have true iron-sights, just a slightly zoomed in view of your off-center weapon. Booo. Simply get the RH_Ironsights mod you'll be looking down the right end of the barrel in no time.

Chapter 8: Advanced mods for an OP stream

Adjustable HUD and Immersive HUD - two very simple mods that allow the HUD elements to be moved or hidden until needed. These are not strictly necessary for a stream, especially since the HUDs will be smaller with Darnified UI installed, but once you use them you won't ever want to play without them. NMC's texture pack (F3 and NV) - adds higher resolution (and improved) textures to many objects and environment elements in the games. Better textures can of course hurt performance, but there are several options to choose from to allow you to select what works best for your PC. Weapon Mod Kits (F3) - another Fallout 3 mod that was integrated into the vanilla New Vegas game, it adds scopes, silencers, and laser sights that you can attach to most guns in the game. Fallout Wanderers Edition (F3) and Project Nevada (NV) - adds a huge list of new gameplay elements to each game, most notably "bullet time", which slows time temporarily to allow for more shooting precision. DC Interiors (F3) - adds lots of new explorable interior zones. New Vegas Bounties (FNV) - Adds a full quest line where you collect bounties. Has multiple chapters and a great story to go along with it.

WTL;DR

• Definitely test either game first
• Stutter remover a must for Fallout 3
• Unofficial patches very helpful for both games
• A UI font size mod will make dialogue and menus easier to read
• Lighting/Color mods will make either game look much more appealing
• Ironsights mod for Fallout 3 pretty much a must
• Advanced mods?

Think I missed a mod or other essential Fallout-enhancing tips? Feel free to respond. Happy Gaming. <3 Loonies

 

Thanks for the reply Garfour, glad to have you in the thread!

Just to re-iterate since that was a very long post, I definitely recommend that the vanilla game should be tested first, and any modding should be done one step at a time.

Regarding performance, I can't imagine it would be an issue even when streaming. I run most of these mods, plus many more including a large re-texture mod, and my 4 year old rig never drops below 60fps. (i5-2500k @ 3.3ghz, 1GB GTX 560 Ti, 4Gb ram)

 

Cool, we have 9 votes for Fallout 3! lowcoHype

I updated my post with notes on HUD mods. I also updated chapter 2 to be a little more useful and made a few other minor edits.

 

Everything Philou saidx2.

I'll add that Fallout 3 is pretty cheap and has very positive critical reviews, so chances are you won't be disappointed. If you like open world games, you are bound to like Fallout 3. With that said, there are people who don't like the game, usually they find it tedious and repetitive, and I can see how they feel that way if they are trying to let the game tell them the story. The thing with the Fallout and Elder Scrolls series is that you are supposed to let the game's environment tell you the story.

For example, in the Witcher series, you have lots of cut scenes that do the story telling, even if you go off exploring on your own. In the Fallout/Elder Scrolls series the games more often choose to remain silent. If you are wandering Skyrim and you come across a necromancer in a dungeon with town-folk held in cages, you have to use more of your imagination to determine what was going on there. Similarly, in Fallout, you often find a rogue character in a basement who may or may not be a cannibal. You might find a clue, perhaps some "mysterious meat" lying around. hmmm. If you don't have much imagination, you might have trouble getting sucked into the game. If you do have sufficient imagination, you may never get tired of discovering all the little hints and horrors the developers so meticulously included in the game. Plus, at any time, you can improve the game play with a few mods.

 

I like your style Philou. There were some good "needs" mods for Skyrim. Having something that scales as you level is an interesting idea. One way to execute that would be to have a better faction system where they spread and use up more resources as you level. Things automatically become scare, and the factions constantly expand to new territories, shaking things up a bit and maybe adding more urgency to the game in general.

 

Edited to add the unofficial patch for both games as well as the fallout stutter remover mod

 

Wow, that was a heck of show Bethesda put on last night! I thought I had high expectations, but they were absolutely nothing compared to what it looks like Fallout 4 will offer.

Sorry other 2015 games, but you can stop holding the place on your mantle for your GOTY trophy

 

I thought someone might suggest this. Lowco could definitely go that route since I expect she got the GOTY version of both games from steam and they are un-modded. My suggestions are based on what I know works, and since I have a handful of mods installed and a Fallout 3 play-through I need a lot more time to complete, I have not attempted to install a tale of two wastelands.

Without knowing much about it, I will give my brief thoughts, I am open to more discussion on this of course

It looks easy to install TTW itself, but it does say it is an Alpha mod that can have crashes/freezes. If only because people have played the regular Fallout 3 1,000x more than the TTW version, I would imagine it is much easier and faster to find solutions to the problems Lowco might come across.

 

Edited to add NMC's texture packs for F3 and FNV to Chapter 8. Also, hit the 10,000 character limit in the post

 

Some thoughts on Fallout DLC...weigh in if you wish

Fallout 3:
Broken Steel [Game Enhancements]: Definitely play with this enabled if only for the level cap increase (from 20 to 30). Also adds more to the main quest and many other things.
All other DLC are new quest/area DLC. Generally, people like Point Lookout the best. The others are playable, but for the most part not required. I would say if you have time to play one, make it Point Lookout.

Fallout New Vegas:
All DLC (excluding item DLC) are new quest/areas. There is probably enough to do in the main game, and in my opinion none of the DLC do anything all that special. Personally, I liked Honest Hearts the most because it is the easiest to play with traditional guns (Hunting Rifle Hype!).

 

Well *coughs* I actually played through all the New Vegas DLC. They all seemed a bit grindy except for HH. To be fair, I was probably somewhat New Vegased out since I had been playing a ton since the launch and was probably on my 4th or 5th deep play-through.