Hey, just ordered the Game of the Year edition. Never played Fallout 3. I've used hundreds upon hundreds for Oblivion and Morrowind. I never even played Morrowind without a lot of mods, so I'm not going to go completely vanilla on my first Fallout play through. I'm just wondering what mods are good for the first play through. Definitely going for NMC's textures. I'll probably also go with Fallout Wanderer's edition, just for the combat mechanics. I like the idea of a more FPS style damage and aiming, though I don't mind being a jack of all trades master of all.

I know I can just go through nexus and see what's popular, but just wondering what might be good for the first play through.

you can start here http://amito.freehostia.com/Fallout/FO-mods.htm#Index

You definitely want to get Darn's UI improvements. I didn't really care for his Oblivion version, but the one he did for Fallout really improves things. More Hotkeys is also a good one to get. The default 8 hot keys is just not enough. I really like Weapon Mod Kits as well, it's nice being able to customize your weapon of choice.

http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=2761/http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=3388/http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=8340/http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=3211/http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=6341 with http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=4968 making them play nice together is always a good choice for an overhaul setup. That's what I personally use, at least.

FallOut Mod Manager (FOMM) and FO3Edit and Miax manuals: So that whatever mods you choose will run well, and if they don't then you can figure out why without posting your load order.

I don't ever recommend adding mods to game until you have completed at least one playthrough. However, since you have already stated you aren't going to do that you could look at http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1056342-mezs-gameplay-and-immersion-mod-list/ it's chock full of goodies in there. Also if you are going to get NMC's texture pack, make sure to pick up the rock addon pack as well as the tree roots.

Thanks a lot guys! very helpful.

What's that about tree roots? Are you talking about his Terrain mod? (are those textures separate from his big one?)

hmm, it appears the mod has been updated since I last looked at it on the nexus. that must've been an old file that i mentioned. Maybe I should update my load order then
http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=12056