I've played through the MQ for the first time and am looking for some mods for my next char. I'd appreciate some tips on the following:

Level scaling - While improved compared to vanilla Oblivion, I still would like it being mixed up more, i.e. having the chance of facing tougher enemies on lower levels and also not only facing tougher enemies on higher levels when entering a zone for the first time. Doesn't seem to be much available regarding this, but I'd appreciate any tips.

Randomness - Much as in Oblivion there are mostly the same random items everywhere. Are there any mods hand placing worthwhile items around the world so you have a reason for exploring around more?

Slower leveling - Which mods are recommended to slow down player leveling a bit? Arwen's Reduced Quest XPR module seems perfect regarding that, but are there mods slowing down it generally as well?

Overhauls and performance - Sadly, my rig is struggling as it is so I'm a bit afraid of adding MMM to the mix (which I guess is awesome, as it is for Oblivion). Are MMM and FWE resource hungry? And, if so, are there any alternatives?

Well, for some misc. gameplay tweaks dealing with Ammo and Skill Points in a unique and interesting way, check out my Ammo Limit and Skill Cap Based On SPECIALs mod.

MMM isn't as big as it was for OB, but it also is more stable.

Thanks, I'll check them out.

So MMM for FO3 doesn't tax the rig as much as MMM for Oblivion? That sounds great if so. The latest MMM release for Oblivion is very stable BTW, but that's another matter.

Just gave XFO a try over the weekend and looks like i may have finally found the perfect overhaul mod for me. Makes everything feel balanced and natural instead of tediously realistic just for the sake of it-
http://home.comcast.net/~xodarap777/XFO/XFO_Readme_Current.html

Martigen's Mutant Mod- adds even more varied life in the form of new creatures and npcs to fight or befriend along with new loot and ingrediants-
http://www.gamesas.com/bgsforums/index.php?showtopic=1069335&st=0

And yes MMM doesnt tax ones system. Its also very stable.

MMM for fallout is pretty stable, however if used with icreased/ increased increased spawns can be somewhat taxing on some systems. aslo, if you haven't found a slower levelling mod yet, take a look at http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=97 I have been using it for several months now, and have been pleased with the results. It allows for varying degrees of slower levelling.

MMM it is then. Brilliant. I'll check out XFO as well. Thanks for the tip!



Perfect.

Is the normal or Lite version recommended? Also, I hope this isn't true (FO3 Nexus comment):



:unsure:

Theres also a new kid on the block http://www.gamesas.com/bgsforums/index.php?showtopic=1075590

Sounds great. I really like that you can customize it as you want. However, as I'm still rather new to the game I think I'll go for a "premade" variant first and perhaps return to EXP control at a later stage.

I've never had the problem that poster reported, but then I am not using the lite version, i am using the regular version; slower levelling esp. try it out, if you don't like how it works there are others out there that may be a better fit for your needs.

Thanks. Yes, judging by the readme I can't see why it wouldn't work with Broken Steel. I'll try Slower Levelling - slower.esp.

EDIT: Oh, one more thing. If I understand it correctly, most (all?) containers don't respawn. Is there a mod fixing this so there's a reason revisiting locations?

http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=2519.

http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=4759. This is the only one I know. It requires both FOOK and MMM, but it was based on older versions of both mods. However, if you check it out in FO3Edit, you should easily be able to modify it to work with FOOK2 and MMM RC5 (or for that matter, make it work with vanilla game).



FOOK (or rather, FOOK2) is the only thing I know that comes close to OOO. FOOK combines many different mods as well as FOOK team's own enhancements. I've found a number of "hand place" stuff (monsters, , NPCs, items, factions, areas) that has helped to alleviate my annoyance with the "randomness" of Fallout. If you download FOOK2, you will also need the hotfixes (which are available from the FOOKUNITY website). There are a number of bugs but in my own experience, the "game-breaking" ones have all been addressed by the hotfixes. FOOK2 1.1 is scheduled to be released sometime this month.



There are many, but the best one is probably the XP mod recently released which allows the player to set the rate they personally prefer. I can't recall the name but there is a support thread for the mod here somewhere.



Same deal with Oblivion. The more overhaul mods you add the more likely your will suffer in performance (and stability). I use http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=3729 instead of the vanilla quicksave key. Skyranger has a http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=8886 for Fallout. There is no equivalent of Streamline and such, but Fallout 3 is better optimized than Oblivion and probably does not need such a thing.

I recently removed MMM from my load order. MMM is still an excellent mod (and is quite stable by itself), but FOIP Patches are no subsitute for Wrye Bash and WeOCPS, just so you are properly warned (maybe I mentioned this before).

Wrye Bash? WeOCPS? Explain, please.

They're (edit - comprehensive) Oblivion mod management software tools.

Someone is working ona http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=10097. I haven't tried it yet though.

WEOCPS is Windom Earls Oblivion Crash Prevention System. Which stops around 70 percent of OB crashes. Sadly he stopped working on it.

Thanks for the tips as always. Much appreciated. I think I'll wait until FOOK2 1.1 is released - and/or the FOOK homepage is up again.

So far my mod list looks like this:

Fallout3.esm
Anchorage.esm
ThePitt.esm
BrokenSteel.esm
PointLookout.esm
Zeta.esm
Unofficial Fallout 3 Patch.esm
Hairday.esm
StreetLights.esm
Mart's Mutant Mod.esm
DCInteriors_ComboEdition.esm
Unofficial Fallout 3 Patch - Operation Anchorage.esp
Unofficial Fallout 3 Patch - The Pitt.esp
Unofficial Fallout 3 Patch - Broken Steel.esp
Unofficial Fallout 3 Patch - Point Lookout.esp
Unofficial Fallout 3 Patch - Mothership Zeta.esp
DarNifiedUIF3.esp
StreetLights - Wasteland.esp
CASM.esp
GalaxyNewsRadio100[M].esp
BusworldV1.05d.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 - No Corpse Flies.esp
Mart's Mutant Mod - Zones Respawn.esp
dD-No Screen Blood.esp
Dread Dogmeat.esp
Mark and recall.esp
Ammo Box Respawn.esp
medkit and toolbox respawn.esp
Arwen_XPR.esp

You should see if It's Bubbly! fits your needs.

Regarding slower leveling, things that reduce the XP rewards you get are fine. Things that changed the amount of XP required per level would reliably crash on leveling from 20 to 21 when Broken Steel first came out. I haven't heard of any recent developments on that problem, or whether 1.6 or 1.7 might have fixed it.

Thanks for the tip and info. I've added Arwen_Reduced_QuestXPR.esp to the mod list, as I still find it levels to fast (Level 4 after only doing Super-Mart and Minefield for Moira). Arwen_XPR should be compatible with Broken Steel, at least it says so: "But this mod should be 100% compatible with any DLC, including Broken Steel." I'll check out It's Bubbly!, but I'm a bit wary of "realism" overhauls. We'll see.

If you find my regular Reduced_XPR (Arwen_XPR.esp) does not slow you down enough, you should use my Arwen_XPR_Extreme.esp, which is what I'm using in my own game. Both are indeed 100% compatible with All the DLC. And the Arwen_Reduced_QuestXPR.esp should also slow you down quite a bit, especially at the beginning of the game, as you will now be out in the Wasteland at level 1.

If your really want to slow down your game (not so much how fast you level up, but how quickly you become powerful). give my Skills module a try.

Thanks. The Arwen_XPR.esp and Arwen_Reduced_QuestXPR.esp combo seems just about perfect.

I'll use this thread instead of creating a new for a small issue I have with Raider Sadist Armor in the game. Sometimes it has http://i45.tinypic.com/s61202.jpg, which can be in different colors. It's only visible in certain angles/distances or something like that. I wonder what might cause it? I'm using Type3_raider_armor_replacer, but I thought it only would affect female variants and when I've seen this it has been on male characters. Anyone who has an idea what it might be?

Are you using a male body mod ?
If you use breeze and MMM, there's a texture fix for the raiders available on Nexus.

No, I'm not using a male body mod - and no armor replacer for males either. Thanks for the tip on the texture fix, which I just found while looking for possible fixes for the issue above. Much better - although now male and female raiders look very unlike each other.