Hey folks,

I just read the mods FAQ sticky and downloaded FOMM0.13.20, FOSE v1.2 beta 2.7z, Program Version Recommended 944, FOMS 2 Alpha 1 3596, AND FO3 Edit 2.53-637.7. A few things I'm not yet clear on though, which could overall be described as "in what order should I install all these tools"

- Do I need to download .NET seperately from Microsoft?
- Do I need to install other things similar to .NET to get the FO3 mod tools to work? For Oblivion, I had to download (on a different computer- not playing FO3 on my home computer) Python, and some other things.
- What order should I install the above listed FO3 mod tools?
- Is it okay if I install all the mod tools before I ever run FO3? Basically, will never using Games for Windows Live (whihc I dislike and am happy to ditch) mess up the game in anyway?
- Because I have GOTY version, I know I have all the official patches. Are there any unofficial patches I should install prior to installing mods (this is the case with Oblvion)?
- I read the Installing FO3 Mods for Noobs (http://planetfallout.gamespy.com/articles/features/610/Installing-Fallout-3-Mods-for-Newbs) and notice the heading "MANUAL METHOD" which seems to imply there's an automatic method, as well (akin maybe in Oblivion to using OBMM and Wrye Bash and BOSS, which are infinitely preferrable to installing mods manually). IF there is an automated method to installing FO3 mods a la OBMM and Wrye Bash, is there a guide for that somewhere?

Basically, I'm in "what next" mode now that I have installed my GOTY version of FO3.

If there's a prosaic, hold-you-by-the-hand guide to the process, including suggested load orders, that would be awesome.



Thanks a lot.

Yes, you can only get .NET from Microsoft. I've never heard of it being required though.



None that I know of. Anything you already have from Oblivion, like Python and PyFFI, will do for Fallout as well. There is a version of Wrye Bash available for Fallout though, IIRC it's called Flash Bash. There's also a version of OBSE for the game, called FOSE. You definitely want that.



It doesn't matter.



Certainly, they won't interfere with the game in any way. Though ones like FOMM might need to have Fallout installed first. I believe it looks for the install directory.



Not at all. Since you have the GOTY edition, Live is redundant. It was only needed in order to download the DLCs when they came out, but you already have them all. In fact if you use FOSE, it bypasses Live completely so it can't even be accessed. If you get DarN's UI, and your really should, you can even remove the button from the main menu.



Yes there are, you can find them at Fallout Nexus. Be sure to hunt down a fixed version of the Broken Steel patch, there's some glitches with the original one that can crash your game.



Yes, there is a FOMM available with a .FOMOD file format just like in Oblivion. And I believe that Flash Bash allows you install mods using the BAIN method, though I'm not positive about that.



There's a BOSS version for Fallout as well. Though not as comprehensive as the one for Oblivion, it will get you started at least. Since you're familiar with Oblivion mods though, you won't have any problem with Fallout. They're essentially the same in how you do things.

Thanks a lot Belanos for a thorough reply. To clarify, I don't have Python and PyFFI on the compter I am playing FO3 on, and wanted to see if I need them on this computer,too.

One imporrant question I forgot to ask: in Oblivion you can use Oblivion Mod Manager to create OMODS out of mods that are in zip files. Basically, OBMM will place all the textures, meshes, and such in the corresponding folders- an automated process instead of a manual drag and drop.

Perhaps incorrectly, I have been using Fallout Mod Manager Package Manager>Add FOMod to open ZIP files of the few FO3 mods that I've installed so far: Calibr 1.4, CRAFT, DARNIFIED, Wander's Edition, Martigen's Mutant Mod, Weapon Mod Kits and the various compatibility patches.

All the relevant esp and esm files for the mods apear in the Fallout Mod Manager screen, so it's the files in the textures, meshes, and other Data subfolders that I wonder if installing via Package Manager as above are being properly installed. In the event they haven't, can I juat open the ZIPS for each mod and manually drag and drop the sounds, meshes, textures, etc. folders into my Data folder?

Can't believe I forgot to ask this question upfront before I started. I guess I just assumed that FOMOD works like OBMM in terms of making FOMODS out of regular, non-fomod mods (like the Add Archive function in OBMM).

Thanks.

I believe that Flash Bash uses Python, since it's a just a port of Wrye Bash, and if IIRC it uses it in order to work. So if you want to use that, then I guess you'll need it. I'm not positive though. As for PyFFI, it looks like Fallout's meshes have already been well optimized. I tried running a few meshes through that utility and didn't really notice any difference. In fact, I quite often saw an increase in file size. At any rate Fallout is much better performance wise than Oblivion was, so you probably won't need to squeeze out anything extra that way. So you don't really need to bother with that one.

As for FOMM, to tell you the truth I haven't used the Packet Manager all that much, I prefer installing things manually myself. Adding DarN is about the only thing I've done with it so far. So I can't really tell you if those files are being installed correctly or not. The best way is just to extract one of the archives and compare it to your Data folder. If you see the files in there the way they're supposed to be then all's good. Though I suspect that if you're seeing the .esp and .esm files where they should be, that the other files are being stored properly as well.

And just some advice to make things easier IMO its best to install one at a time . Start game after then do another one . That s just making things easier to find issues that way instead of putting them all on at once then trying to find a problem.

Yes, good advice. I've been going pretty slowly- installing 2 or 3 at a time and then loading my game.