Different load order posts/guides are offering conflicting information, and FOMS' default template simply does not detect enough of the mods yet. Any thoughts?

[X] Fallout3.esm[X] Unofficial Fallout 3 Patch.esp[X] HairPack.esm[X] Anchorage.esm[X] Mart's Mutant Mod.esm[X] MPammo.esp[X] Owned!.esp[X] Lawbringer Contract Killer Perk Fix.esp[X] Wired Reflexes.esp[X] Sniper Perk.esp[X] Gunslinger.esp[X] Commando Perk.esp[X] KTs_SpeedSquad.esp[X] Mighty Mouse Alternative 4.esp[X] NPC Height Randomizer Less Variance.esp[X] PCIdles.esp[X] Realistic Explosions.esp[X] Repair Rethought.esp[X] Improved Turret Reprogramming.esp[X] StripClub.esp[X] WeaponModKits.esp[X] KillableKidsNormalHealthOptional.esp[X] hair_add_npc.esp[X] bittercup_comp.esp[X] RobCo Certified.esp[X] Slower Degradation (-95%).esp[X] SYAlwaysBuysBooks.esp[X] TossedMines.esp[X] VATS Normal Weapon Degradation.esp[X] Vault101 Exit Cancel.esp[X] vault92 fix.esp[X] UsableCigarettes.esp[X] Mart's Mutant Mod.esp[X] Mart's Mutant Mod - Increased Spawns.esp[X] Mart's Mutant Mod - Feral Ghoul Rampage.esp[X] Mart's Mutant Mod - Natural Selection.esp[X] Mart's Mutant Mod - Tougher Traders.esp[X] Mart's Mutant Mod - No Corpse Flies.esp[X] Mart's Mutant Mod - Hunting & Looting.esp

Nothing looks out of place (not familiar with all of the mods list tbh)....are you having problems with this order? if so what exactly

No problems so far (but then I am still in the tutorial), just want to ensure a stable load order. Other than experiencing bugs from a few mods (eg. usable cigarettes). Since I am only really using one overhaul mod (MMM), stability probably won't be a real issue. Although down the road I might be inclined to add more, like Enclave Commander as well as a some smaller tweak mods.

oh...in that case good hunting

Ps.
Be aware that removing mods that adds perks may need additional work once you've selected one of the new perks.
check the readme of these type mods to see if they have an exit strategy other than 'new game'.

Thanks, I didn't know that. I wish there was an equivalent of "Wrye Bash" for Fallout 3. I get paranoid without a compatibility patch to make the conflicting mods nice and friendly to each other.

To better insure a clean removal of any mod remove anything from it from you before doing it unless that item is a vanilla game item. Perks should be gotten rid of using the console command to do so before getting rid of the perk pack as removing it before can sometimes corrupt your save. Don't know the perk id? Open said mod up in fo3 edit and look around for it.

Oh and if you also didn't know, if you use a house mod or megaton house remodeling mod or whatever you wanna call it always remove your stuff from the building/house before installing (in the case of the megaton housing ones) it or removing the mod (when necessary/applicable). If you don't you'll more than likely lose everything in that building.

A few mods you might wanna try:

Sack of holding (what the name suggests): http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=1489

A nice texture replacer for WMK (replaces the vanilla unique textures to make them look more unique): http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=4643

stimpak replacer (to help you find all of those stimpaks hidden right in front of you): http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=3538

MTC wasteland travelers (I believe there was a mod for oblivion like this): http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=3375

Clean pure water (doesn't affect the rads in it but makes the water look good): http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=4164

There's nothing to worry about when it comes to mod compatibility. It's unlikely you'll get conflicts. The thing to remember is mods at the top of the list load first. Then the mods lower down load after overwriting any settings earlier mods had changed.

So for instance if you load a perk pack that changes all the original perks and also want a specific perk to be changed by another mod you'd want to load that after the perk pack.

I used 167 mods for oblivion and never had any compatibility issues. Check the compatibility mod makers list and try to avoid having more than 1 mod that does the same thing. For instance having 2 different mods to allow you to fill water at sinks is definitely going to conflict.

Ok, I just had my first CTD. It's reproduceable. The CTD occurs when I try to enter Megatron. Any thoughts?

haha...I'd do the same if someone tried to enter me...(without dinner and a movie first) :rofl:
Megatron was probably expecting Optimus.

Ahem...anyways, you could try disabling mods until you find the one causing the problem, and/or you could try FO3Edit to see if that can help detect the problem

check this thread
http://www.gamesas.com/bgsforums/index.php?showtopic=969409
May or maynot be exactly the same problem, in the thread there's a link to FO3Edit and very basic instructions for install/use.
(the poster hasn't come back, so don't know if there was a happy ending)

Hmmm... nothing jumps out at me, but if that's the newest version of owned it might be causing you problems since it was causing me problems. I eventually had to go and DL the 2.2 reloaded version and use that. Other then that I'd just do as the other guy suggested. You'll eventually catch the problem causing mod by turning your mods off a a few at a time or by using fo3edit.

It's a lot easier to either load your mods one by one and test stability, or remove them one by one and do the same... I have crashes, but I don't play enough to have hunted down the culprits. I suspect many of the people here are the same My only thought would be Strip Club which modifies megaton (outside moritarty's too). I doubt it, but who knows :shrug:

I should probably have elaborated on what I did after I posted here (I was too tired, went to bed). I did run FO3Edit, but there were so many entries on Megaton that it was impossible to narrow things down. So I had to resort to the old school "diable them in small groups" approach. That didn't fix the CTDs until I disabled MMM and its optional plugins, then the savegame would not start at all. So I ended up leaving MMM disabled and starting a new game. Ran straight for Megaton after I used a skip tutorial mod--again the CTD. I am not using Owned! v2.2, but 2.6 (which is the latest version). FO3Edit did detect a null reference in strip club, but it detected errors in the MMM.esm too. I just didn't know what I was supposed to do, if anything, to fix it. So now I am completely stumped.

I did find the other "Megaton CTD" thread but the poster shared very few mods as my setup. I also changed my load order several times to see if there would be a different result. But alas, same old CTD when trying to enter Megaton. I am patched to version 1.4 (which is why I am using those perk mods as a temp fix to the bugs introduced by patch 1.1).

re: owned! the other poster was saying that the v2.6 version gave him problems.
Do you get the CTDs when running the 'vanilla' (no mods at all) setup ?
I doubt that the problem is MMM or you would be in big company.
I'd try 'vanilla'...and then 'vanilla' + MMM and work your way up, each time use a fresh start so as not to confuse the issue with unresolvable references in savedata due to de-activated mods. (I know it's a pain, but you're early enough in the game to not lose anything by it)

ps.
as an aside why have you got mpammo in your load? which mod is using it??

Also, I would recommend after you make a clean start, save your game right outside of vault 101 and then save it again. Make sure you keep one as a save with no mods, then use the other one to advance with your mod testing so that even if you have a mod problem you don't have to restart completely(sorry if this was said before).

Didn't think of that...good point

Yeah, I think this is the only remaining alternative I have. If I am still crashing at Megaton even without any mods, then I have bigger problems than just mod conflicts. I won't be able to get in Fallout for a bit but I will test this as soon as I can, Thanks everyone!

closed per OP request