Hi

Basically I have FO3 on the Xbox, thought it was awesome - then I found out it can be modded on PC, making it even more awesome. :fallout:

I'm now planning on buying the GOTY edition for PC, but I had a few questions about whether it will work and whether it will be able to be modded...

1) Here are the graphics specifications for my Laptop - will it work :liplick:

Graphics
Max. resolution external display 1920 x 1200 pixel
Graphics brand name Intel? HD Graphics or HD Graphics 3000 (depending on CPU)
Graphics features DirectX? 10 support
Graphics notes Shared memory depending on main memory size
Shared video memory up to 1695 MB


2) I already have steam (for Empire Total War) - presumably FO3 will work on Steam?

3) Can F03 be modded with Steam installed, or if you use FO3 with Steam?

Thats everything really ,

Thanks

No, Intel graphics chips just aren't good enough to run the game. While you may possibly get to work, which is highly doubtful, you'll need to turn your settings way down and then you'll still get alot of stuttering. Especially with that monitor resolution. If you want to play graphic intensive games like Fallout, you should get yourself a desktop system with a dedicated video card. Laptops just aren't designed for gaming, especially ones equipped with an Intel graphics chip. They're the worst ones out there.



Only if you buy it from them.



Yes, there's no problems modding with a Steam version of the game.

Ok. Thanks for your help.... guess i'm stuck with the 360 FO then :confused:


- Just as a matter of interest, how much do graphics chips cost?

Well laptops generally cannot be upgraded. You would be stuck with your current chipset. Now if you were on a desktop, a somewhat decent GPU can run from $100-$500 and up. (Personally mine cost about $397 when I got it in December). Though as with anything on a PC, you want to make sure that the CPU and RAM and PSU is up to the task of supporting the GPU.

Ok, thanks guys

Meh - it was worth asking whether it would work or not... but having to upgrade the computer just to play it and costing between ￡3-500 is a bit much!

Well a good GPU that would run FO3 on max is easily found at about $100. (Though again its not available to a laptop as an upgrade). The 6970 (the graphics card I use) is a GPU that can handle any game running at max. And a GPU that would run FO3 at medium-high can be found for nearly $70.

Hmm a quick update - I've checked out the system on the downstairs computer (we have one upstairs, I have a laptop, and we have one downstairs) which is more modern than my laptop and the upstairs computer, and all the values are greater than the requirements set out on the Fallout website

Recommended System Requirements:

?Intel Core 2 Duo processor
?2 GB System RAM
?Direct X 9.0c compliant video card with 512MB RAM (NVIDIA 8800 series, ATI 3800 series)
?Supported Video Card Chipsets:


?NVIDIA GeForce 200 series
?NVIDIA Geforce 9800 series
?NVIDIA Geforce 9600 series
?NVIDIA Geforce 8800 series
?NVIDIA Geforce 8600 series
?NVIDIA Geforce 8500 series
?NVIDIA Geforce 8400 series
?NVIDIA Geforce 7900 series
?NVIDIA Geforce 7800 series
?NVIDIA Geforce 7600 series
?NVIDIA Geforce 7300 series
?NVIDIA GeForce 6800 series
?ATI HD 4800 series
?ATI HD 4600 series
?ATI HD 3800 series
?ATI HD 3600 series
?ATI HD 3400 series
?ATI HD 2900 series
?ATI HD 2600 series
?ATI HD 2400 series
?ATI X1900 series
?ATI X1800 series
?ATI X1600 series
?ATI X1300 series
?ATI X850 series


So there may be hope yet :disguise: If I can I'll post a copy of the system up online, so you can check it out

Oh one last thing, I have an intense hatred of keyboard track pads... will Fallout 3 PC work with an Xbox 360 controller? My dad (he's more of a techie than me) says that it should work provided we have a USB to connect the controller to the computer - but the only one I have is the recharger pack for the 360... will this work?

Cheers.

Well as long as the other PC doesnt have use an Intel video solution it may run. (You should post a dxdiag or list the specs)

As to the Xbox controller you cannot use the recharger pack USB cable. It only has wires for power and no actual data wires are being used. You would either need a completely wired http://www.amazon.com/Xbox-360-Wired-Controller/dp/B000B6MLTQ/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1302356757&sr=8-3 or a http://www.amazon.com/Xbox-Wireless-Gaming-Receiver-Windows-Pc/dp/B000HZFCT2/ref=sr_1_8?s=videogames&ie=UTF8&qid=1302356793&sr=1-8

Though I personally suggest that you buy a physical mouse for the game. A decent enough mouse can be found for about $5-$10 and it will feel much more natural then a controller.

Thanks for your help - to be fair that's what I was saying to Dad about the controller... and to be honest I play more Xbox games than PC... so I may well invest in a wired controller.

here's a pics of the specs (I think they are at least), so you guys can say whether it will work or not.

http://i802.photobucket.com/albums/yy304/MrFortunato/downstairscomputersystem.png


EDIT: Oh, I've just been re-reading the above posts, and it says somewhere that F03 will only work on Steam if I buy it from them... can I install it without Steam? Or will it just automatically work with steam - also, can I run several mods at once on a single save? e.g the "bloom" mod which makes the wasteland become like...grassland and weapon mods?

You can run any number of mods up to the hard limit of 254 on a single game. However, making the mods you want to use play well together can be a real challenge if you don't take the time to read the documentation for the mods and learn how to use some of the mod tools.

Start slow, download a few, read the readme files and/or discussion threads, install one at a time and verify your game works properly before installing another. You'll soon have your own collection of "must have" mods, and then you'll be adding more and more to that list.

Thanks!

Just a quick update... I've bought F03 GOTY on PC, plan to install it on the downstairs computer which should run it. (I've also bought a wired Xbox controller which should work on PC too)

Anyway... since I plan to mod the game, does anyone have any ideas about which things I'll need to make the mods run...

For example I've seen somewhere about the G.E.C.K & FO3 script extender... basically what essentials are going to be needed to make the mods a) possible and B) run smoothly.

Cheers

For starters, you're certainly going to want to use the http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=640. This includes several of the tools you'll need, such as Archive Invalidation (needed when you use mods that introduce new textures and meshes), and is infinitely better than the vanilla game launcher.

The http://fose.silverlock.org is needed by many of the mods out there, so you'll probably be installing and using it at some point. Check the documentation for the mods you want to use; if the mod requires FOSE, the mod author will include a note to this effect.

When you get to the point where you're using a fairly large number of mods, you will inevitably experience conflicts between them that you will need to resolve by patching and/or moving records around. There are two main files that are used for this -

http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=637 - useful for creating merged patches, it's the older and simpler method for resolving conflicts, and is the one I use. Be sure you download the http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=8629 for it as well.

http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=11336 - creates a bashed patch, a newer and more sophisticated method for conflict resolution, but comes at the cost of a steeper learning curve than FO3Edit.

Finally, http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=10193 is very useful for helping to sort large load orders. Selecting the right order in which you load mods is critical for resolving a lot of conflicts.

The http://geck.gamesas.com/index.php/Main_Page is the main tool used to create your own mods, so if this interests you, go ahead and get it. If nothing else, it'll allow you to "peek under the hood" of Fallout 3 and your mods and find out what makes them work. It is not an easy tool to learn to use properly; there are many tutorials on YouTube and in other places that'll help you get started, though.

Ok, so for the moment I'm going to need FOMM & FOSE? And when I begin to accumulate large numbers (that wont be for a while anyway... at the moment I only plan to get a few which include iron sights, real life modern weapons and armours and possibly bloom, ambient and weather mods although I do have my eye on a mod which lets you build your own TARDIS ) I will need to download the stuff which will let me resolve conflicts...

Just another question... how easily do these conflicts come about? I mean... say one of the mods adds another vendor to an area... would it only conflict with other mods if those other mods also added a vendor to the exact same area?

Generally speaking, yes. And in your example, the vendor from the mod that you loaded last would be the one who appears in the game. This is true for all mods - the last mod loaded that affects a given area will overwrite the changes made to that area by mods that load higher.

However, a lot of mods (particularly the overhaul mods like FWE and FOOK) change a whole bunch of things in the game, such as damage effects on enemies and damage taken from enemies, adding new enemies, allowing you to configure how fast you level up, etc. Once you start using those kinds of mods, dealing with conflicts, as well as mods that just will not run side by side with other mods (the two I mentioned above are examples of these), becomes a lot more common.

It's kind of intimidating at first, but once you've installed and used a few mods it gets easier. And failing all else, when you get to the point that you're just ready to pull your hair out, post a help wanted message on the Mods forum here. Chances are that someone has experienced your issue in the past and will help you out.

Pretty much yeah.

Any mod that alters and area/NPC/weapon will conflict with one that alters the same thing.

Thanks for your help guys

So do you reckon the following mods would clash? (they're from Nexus' files of the month)

http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=12136 - steiner combat gear
http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=10314 - arms dealer mod - I know this won't work with the iron sight mod
http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=5059 - 19-20th century weaponry
http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=6938 - iron sights - again, I know this won't work with the gun mods...
EDIT: http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=14395 - also this one, again, it incorporates several mods into one by the looks of the description, including weapon mods, so the iron sights are probably out...

Basically, would these mods clash? - from the description on the iron sight mod page... it would probably clash with the 2 weapon mods seen above... but not nessecarily with the combat gear, which doesn't seem to include guns... I could probably live without the modern weaponry if I had iron sights and combat gear... (edit: oh, and the ability to kill particularly irritating child NPCs...)

So yeah basically, are these all compatible with each other to run at the same time?

Cheers

- oh and finally, do you reckon these would interfere with the more outlandish mods... like the TARDIS one mentioned above?

Cheers

The Enclave Commander mod is one of those extensive ones that uses a lot of features found in other mods. I think they have a website for it - you may want to check it out. But if it incorporates features that other mods on your list add, then you don't need the other mods if you run it.

I personally do not have any experience with the mods on your list, but the readme files included with them should contain a list of known incompatibilities/conflicts with other mods.

Ok cheers - by the way, you may wish to edit your quote too.

Hmmm, from what i've seen from you guys, my guess is that the Enclave commander mod incorporates many of the mods listed above, but won't work with the iron sights, which to be fair, I don't mind... If i can't have iron sights but I can have modern weapons, modern equipment, control of a squad... it does sorta balance

I assume mods like that wouldn't clash with mods which deal with... say the weather... difficult to see how they could overlap to be honest

- That is something, would it override the main story-line? If so then it may be a better idea to pick and choose the mods within it to keep the story line but take the aspects that I want...

Edits done.

The deal with the iron sights mods is that you have to create the animations that show the iron sights in use. These are around for the vanilla weapons, but unique weapons added by other mods require their own animations. Many of the weapon pack mods include the iron sights animations needed to use them.

As far as weather mods go, you shouldn't have too many problems, as long as you load the weather mod low in your order. Just select one weather mod and use it. Using more than one at a time can cause problems.

Riiight, so mods which tend to overlap in areas e.g. weather mods, animation mods (although would they if they were animating completely different things?) etc would clash?

Hi there:

A couple of points to add to the excellent advice already posted:

1. Do not install FO3 through the "Programs" route as you would normally install a 'Program'. Install it into a separate Folder you create directly on the 'C' drive. For example mine is named gamesas for FO3. So it looks like this: C:/gamesas

2. I am also playing FO-New Vegas and when I installed that via the DVD the Steam Program started and basically controls FO-NV. I also installed FO-NV directly to a separate Folder I created on the 'C' drive. I purchased the Dead Money DLC thru my Steam Account and I really like this Steam stuff much more the the previous 'Games for Windows Live' enity.

3. Since I installed the FO-NV first I was curious how my Steam Account would react to the older FO3 DVD as far as recognizing it for the install. I did have to 'tell' Steam to install from the DVD drive and Steam was happy to comply with that. So, Steam is now 'managing' my FO3 with the 4 DLCs and I can launch either game thru Steam. You do not have to buy FO3 thru Steam for it to show up in your Steam Account and be playable, this point was not so clear reading through the Posts.

4. For starters, you do not need to learn 'how to Mod' to play and enjoy these Games, or to download 'Mods' to add to your Game. FOMM and FOSE are must haves and I recommend that you look into FO3Edit if you are planning on adding a lot of Mods. This excellent program allows you to make your own 'Merged Mod' which will pretty much eliminate most 'crashes' and most Mod 'conflicts'. Learn to use the 'Automatic' Mod Merger and life will become a breeze for these Games! The learning curve for FO3Edit is much easier than the GECK's as far as I'm concerned, and you can use and benefit from FO3Edit without even fully understanding either GECK. (FO3 or FO-NV.)

5. I'm old, slow and a tad spoiled so I have never used the keyboard for any of my PC Games. I have a Logitech Dual Action USB Controller and I use a little program called Xpadder for the interface, I don't use the bulky Logitech Profiler. My Xpadder is the old V5.3 which was free but I believe someone now sells an updated Version for aro $10.00 US if you can't find the older 5.3 anymore. Xpadder V5.3 runs on WIN 7 in the compatible Mode for Vista SP2 just fine.

Welcome to the Wasteland! Enjoy and have Fun with your Game!

Bob

Thanks for all your help guys!

There is an update, I've just installed FO3 GOTY with no issues or problems, so tommorow (after a small Biology test), i'll download the modding tools (Fallout Scrip Extender & the Mod Manager...)

Can you suggest a reliable and safe place to get these? - I don't want any viruses now it's finally working!

Thanks

http://fose.silverlock.org/
http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=640
Also the nexus (the site hosting the mod manager download) is a great place to find all of the mods you want.

If he has the GOTY, he doesn't need anything in order to make the game playable. He already has all the expansions and the game is fully patched, so neither Games for Windows or Steam is needed at all.



FO2Edit svcks when it comes to merging mods. A much better utility to use is the FO3 Plugin Utility found here: http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=5104. It requires Java as well and may take a bit of time to get set up, but it is much better for that sort of thing than FO3Edit is.

Ok... I'm installing the FOMM now - works ok I've had some problems with FOSE though.... it seems to say it's a .7Z file and it can't find it... help please?