Fallout Mod Recommendations : Fallout 3

» Fri Feb 18, 2011 10:28 pm

Those of you experienced with Mods for Fallout 3 could you please provide suggestions on what mods best fit the following criteria:

A. Realism
B. Female Eye Candy but not so much as to take away from 'mood' of game
C. Story driven quests
D. Graphics that enhance atmosphere, terrain, sounds etc
E. Mods that are proven (well tested and not so buggy)

thanks!!

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» Fri Feb 18, 2011 7:44 pm

I've not noticed any difference in difficulty between using mods for Fallout 3 or mods for Oblivion. I've stayed shy of using "big mods" for Fallout 3- not least because the game doesn't need them, in my view. There is a "Fallout Mod Manager" utility that can help with keeping textures and meshes tidy, which is like OBMM for Oblivion.

My first impression of mods for Fallout 3 was that they appeared to be markedly more polished for the time (weeks from release) than the equivalent for Oblivion - though perhaps much of this could be explained by the similarity between the GECK and the Oblivion Construction Set, i.e. anyone who's used OB's CS already knows how to mod Oblivion, and the GECK has been slightly improved to be more user-friendly. The Fallout 3 mods I've used have been of almost uniformly high standard.

» Fri Feb 18, 2011 9:47 pm

I think modders were much better at using GECK then the first time around with Oblivion. But on the whole, Fallout 3 didn't need the massive overhauls that Oblivion sorely needed. Oblivion's leveling system was, to put it nicely, severely broken out of the box. And Oscuro's Oblivion Overhaul was the only way to end up with a game that made more sense and was more enjoyable.

I still plan on using either FOOK2 or FWE at some point... I just haven't gotten around to it yet. Instead, I'm using a lot of small mods (texture replacers, lighting mods, small adjustments to realism or gameplay) with MMM or DC Interiors being the biggest mods in my mix. There was a thread last week about visual/texture mods, so I won't repeat that list here.

My current load order:

Spoiler

Fallout3.esm
PointLookout.esm
Anchorage.esm
ThePitt.esm
BrokenSteel.esm
Zeta.esm
Mart's Mutant Mod.esm
DCInteriors_LEnfntPl.esm
DCInteriors_Georgtown.esm
DCInteriors_Mason.esm
DCInteriors_SewardSq.esm
DCInteriors_Takoma.esm
GalaxyNewsRadio100[M].esp
DelayAnchorage.esp
DelaySteel.esp
delaypl.esp
DelayThePitt.esp
delayzeta.esp
Gifts4Kids.esp
MaintenanceShed.esp
Ammo_Dispenser v 2.esp
Merc Adventurer Armor - eng.esp
HellsDistressedLeatherJumpsuits.esp
LongRangeReconnaissancePatrolLRRPArmor.esp
3EFhelmlessstealthsuit.esp
BD Merged Camo Battlearmor.esp
sunglassescollection.esp
Realistic Death Physics.esp
Slower Degradation (-50%).esp
KarmaHard1010.esp
reduced karma loss for Stealing.esp
choose_XP.esp
VanishingPiles.esp
BlankJournals.esp
Glow Sticks.esp
Longer Days & Longer Nights.esp
PowerArmorRebalance.esp
Random Bobbleheads.esp
RandomizedSkillbooks.esp
RandomExtraTraps.esp
DeadlierExplosiveTraps.esp
Xepha's Darker Nights.esp
Realistic Interior Lighting - BS.esp
Realistic Interior Lighting - OA.esp
Realistic Interior Lighting.esp
PiPBoy Grey Light.esp
PiPBoy Light Range x3.esp
NightvisionGoggles(Powered).esp
Mart's Mutant Mod.esp
Mart's Mutant Mod - DLC Anchorage.esp
Mart's Mutant Mod - DLC The Pitt.esp
Mart's Mutant Mod - DLC Broken Steel.esp
Mart's Mutant Mod - DLC Point Lookout.esp
Mart's Mutant Mod - DLC Zeta.esp
Mart's Mutant Mod - Hunting & Looting.esp
Mart's Mutant Mod - Reduced Wasteland Spawns.esp
Mart's Mutant Mod - Natural Selection.esp
Mart's Mutant Mod - Tougher Traders.esp
Mart's Mutant Mod - Zones Respawn.esp

Total active plugins: 59
Total plugins: 60

Whatever you do - get FOMM and use it before you install any mods. That way you can more easily remove mods that you don't like - without having to reinstall FO3 from scratch.

» Sat Feb 19, 2011 6:12 am

Thanks for suggestions - could either of you suggest what version to buy? DVD/Box vs Download and what about the DLCs - are they worth it?
thanks!

» Fri Feb 18, 2011 9:31 pm

I went ahead and bought Fallout 3 Game of the Year Edition (DVD/Box version). I hope to have it arrive by next week and in the meantime will be looking to compile a list of mods which are 'tried and true' (reliable) and compatible to each other.

Here are the kind of mods which I tend to like:

-things that improve graphics
-female eye candy
-realism type mods
-overall high rated mods, if it is popular then I will probably like it too

My system should be able to handle most mods - here are its specs:

Processor: 2.93 GHx Intel Core 2 Duo
Memory: 4GB
Video Card: ATI Radeon HD 4850 512 MB

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Thanks!!

I will post a list of recommended mods in the first post.

» Sat Feb 19, 2011 6:38 am

Here is a good Fallout 3 mod list, it gives a good description too of what the mods do

http://amito.freehostia.com/Fallout/FO-mods.htm

» Fri Feb 18, 2011 5:27 pm

Here is a good Fallout 3 mod list, it gives a good description too of what the mods do

http://amito.freehostia.com/Fallout/FO-mods.htm

thanks Commander - that site looks awesome!

» Sat Feb 19, 2011 9:32 am

Heh, Arwen's site is like the bible of realism modding :celebration:

Personally I like to keep it simple in order to avoid crashes as much as possible (*shivers at the mention
of the "c" word*)

My suggestions would be pretty much the mods I'm using:

1. FWE (For realism and harsher Wasteland)
2. MMM (For more and better mobs and faction relations)
3. Responsive kill reactions (for realistic stealth kills)
4. Darnified UI (no reason needed)
5. Saiden Storm's Camera from "Stormfront Studios Presents" (if you play in 3rd person)
6. NPC Response Expansion (if you mind walking around naked and noone reacting to the sight)
7. CASM and my very own MySQLA (fixed my problems with CASM)
8. Sydney Companion (if you want a follower)
9. Streetlights (Because it looks so damn good!)

I have a few others but nothing I couldn't live with. Without any one of the above, I wouldn't be playing Fallout 3 :fallout:

Using these I usually crash every 2-3 hours so it's pretty good (since I have CASM I always have a recent
save to go back on anyway!)

Edit: You should also by GOTY on DVD for two reasons:
1. You will need all DLCs for most overhauls and many mods
2. Digital versions do not support FOSE except for STEAM (which is a nice alternative but Bethesda's games are unstable enough when modded as it is. I wouldn't risk adding the STEAM factor to the equation)

» Fri Feb 18, 2011 10:07 pm

Oooh, http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=11750 looks interesting.

I may try out the streetlight mods too.

» Fri Feb 18, 2011 6:05 pm

Oooh, http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=11750 looks interesting.

I may try out the streetlight mods too.

It will be added in FWE 6.0 but feel free to try it out till then

» Sat Feb 19, 2011 7:21 am

NMC makes the best texture pack in my opinion:
http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=12056
I use the "Performance" version, but it still makes a huge difference.

» Sat Feb 19, 2011 6:07 am

And another good list here http://www.gamesas.com/?showtopic=1056342

I am a bit noob modding fallout3 - But would also recommend CASM (seems gamesas never seem to solve the auto save problems)

NMC's texture pack - I have similar specs to yourself on my laptop and went for the LITE version

Glad you got the GOTY edition, as for the DLCs agree with above - Install all, particularly Broken Steel which lets you continue after the original Main Quest is complete (otherwise it just ends the game), and allows your PC to go up to level 30 (originally 20) - I mistakenly added the FreePlayAfterMQ mod at one point, not needed with BS.

All seems to be working well so far with the Un-official Fallout3 Patch installed too.