Hi all, noob to the Fallout 3 world but quite experienced with Oblivion so theres a lot of familiar aspects. Just got used to FOMM, BOSS-F, FOSE and FSR

Installations very few, I have GOTY Fallout 3 on DVD, and installed all DLCs.

Also installed Unofficial Fallout 3 patch, Darnified UI, Breeze and Type 5, AmbientWasteLand2 sounds, LiteNMCs textures, Bettergameperformance4, ClutterFreeWorld, Less_rocks, Slower Degradation, View distance decreased and lastly Sniper_Overhaul_and_Hideout

My questions relate to FreePlayAfterMQ_v05 - The way I understand it is if you have all DLCs installed (I believe Broken Steel is the only one to be concerned about really but correct me if I am wrong), then once at the Rotunda just after where the game should normally end, you make a save point here before leaving the rotunda. Quit the game, de-select FreePlayAfterMQ, and continue playing.

So question 1. If we do not have Broken Steel installed, then de-selecting FreePlayAfterMQ is not required - Just continue playing?

question 2. I believe there is also an issue with levelling up if you continue playing - Does anything else need installing?

Reason for the above questions - I am thinking about installing the game on the family machine (for older members of the family that is), and so want to install and have no further need for me to mess with the setup once done ( and get back to Oblivion ), hence considering just leaving out Broken steel, but also need to know if levels will be a problem later.

Or indeed, are there any other quirks with making this game engine last indefinately - Seems to me there are a lot of potentially lost quests, I know skipping the main quest until you complete all you want to is a simple solution, but I dont want another family member getting to that end of quest moment and realising all the stuff they wanted to do with Fawkes accompanying for example afterwards would be lost and need a game restart. I would like them to be able just to continue finding all the adventures this would stop short.

I thought having Broken Steel installed made the Free Play mod redundant.

The game originally had a final ending, but Broken Steel makes it open-ended, I think.

Correct. If you have Broken Steel, you don't need FreePlay after MQ and I have no idea what the repercussions would be of using it with it... it would most likely break Broken Steel.

Thank you both, just went back through the freeplayaftermq comments on tesnexus and realised the post which made me think I needed it was because one user had installed Broken Steel after having had the game a while and previously was using freeplayaftermq, so in that users instance the advice reference saving in the rotunda then exit and de-select the plugin may work .. but in my instance having Broken steel from the outset its not necessary.

Going to do more searching reference the level cap but I think thats me sorted (just seen Broken Steel also takes that up to 30), the way I have seen level increases take longer and longer with each level I think there will be ample time for anyone to do everything anyway (and the inevitable restarts when they realise something could probably have been done better in a different order).

:tops: P.S A lot of familiar avatars around these parts