Fallout IX: Nuclear Cash Cows Go MMOoooooo!

[Ortho]

People online are actually defending Microsoft? This is a first.

In all honesty, I'm quite pleased with this. Bethesda has been stuck with a solid case of head-in-sand management for the past few years, and over that time the Xbox brand has - in my opinion - been steadily improving. So I guess we'll see how this goes.

[Rynjin]

I have little doubt Microsoft will be better management than Zenimax, at the very least. I can at least trust Microsoft to want to make money, where Zenimax's decisions the last few years made me inclined to believe they were TRYING to go bankrupt.

[Triaxx]

There was a video I now cannot find that basically explained all this nonsense was specifically a setup to get the company bought with management being coached any a company that brought such glorious market leaders like Superman 64, and Daikatana to the world. I suspect iD is the only reason there's even a Bethesda to be bought at this point.

[ShneekeyTheLost]

In other news, I think I've found a better way to do modding for New Vegas on Linux.

Mod Organizer 2 has a lutris script found here that (mostly) functions. There's a few things it can and a few things it cannot do.

* Any attempt to open a web browser from MO2 instantly crashes MO2
* As a result, you have to manually set the Nexus API key if you wish to use it to download with
* Once that has been done, however, MO2 shows up as a valid mod manager to download with on Nexus.
* I've downloaded and installed several of the basic mods (NVAC, NVTF, JIP LN, and UIO) to confirm that they do indeed work. Will do more testing tomorrow to see if I can get my old setup running again.

So, as long as you don't click on anything that wants to open a web browser, it works just great. Which means, by the way, do NOT run the tutorial, because it tries to get you to use the button to go to Nexus, which opens up a browser window, and thus crashes immediately. But it seems to be managing the mods so far, and can run the game with the LAA Patch and NVSE. Fingers crossed, I might be able to hit the dusty trails of the Mojave once again.

OpenMW is also advancing its ability to run the same sorts of files used in New Vegas as well, although it isn't ready to actually run New Vegas yet. If you aren't familiar, it's basically an open-sourced engine to run Morrowind (you still have to own the game because it won't give you any of the game files, it's just an agnostic engine) which is multi-platform, and pretty much the best way to play Morrowind these days, since it comes with Large Address Aware and a ton of fixes at the engine level that obviate many 'unofficial patch' style mods entirely.

[ShneekeyTheLost]

Fallout is having a sale related to some F76 nonsense, but it means the entire franchise is steeply discounted. I already had New Vegas, now I have FO3 so can play TTW and picked it up for like 8 bucks. FO4 GOTY with all the DLC is $18 at the moment, for the rest of the week on Steam.

If you have any interest in the fallout franchise, and want to pick them up on the cheap... now's your chance.

[Vinyadan]

About New Vegas, there's a big mod called New California. Has anyone tried it out?

[Triaxx]

Not since it was called Project Brazil.

[SZbNAhL]

About New Vegas, there's a big mod called New California. Has anyone tried it out?

Gopher did a playthrough last year, if that's any help. It's in my very long list of LP series I'll eventually watch when I have the free time.

[Vinyadan]

In general, do you feel it's worth playing?

[Triaxx]

I would say yes. Even if it turns out bad at least it's new content.

[factotum]

I would say yes. Even if it turns out bad at least it's new content.

Uh? That seems like a really weird attitude to me. "Oh, this content sucks, but it's part of a game series I like so I'll play it anyway". I mean, I don't have an opinion on this mod because I've never played it, but I certainly wouldn't play it just because it's more F:NV if it wasn't any good!

[Triaxx]

First it's a mod, so it's fan made and I don't always agree with fans of the games I like. Second Dog City Denver is awful, and it's still a lot of fun. And third, even if I think something is bad, it might be exactly to someone else's tastes. I adore World of Pain and other people absolutely hate it because it's not lore friendly, and it makes the game a lot harder. That's fine. Differing tastes are allowed.

But ultimately, you can't know if it's bad or not, until you play it.

[Balmas]

I have mixed feelings about New California.

I mean, the mod portion, the section you play in? It's great, somewhere between Fallout 2 and New Vegas in both quality and style. You have plenty of options in how to play the game, different factions to side with or against, and so on. There are plenty of things to do, areas to explore, even if the sections between towns feel kind of empty.

But then it trips up in the last thirty seconds because the mod authors really want to set up the events of New Vegas. As such, your choices--side with raiders, side with Bishops, side with NCR, side with Enclave/Super mutants/Samurais--can't be allowed to matter, because the NCR has to face the Legion. You side with the NCR, and they expand into New Vegas! Great! You sided with the raiders, and they expanded--until they hit the Legion, got absorbed/destroyed, and the Legion goes on to face the NCR at New Vegas. it kind of neuters your ability to make choices if the eventual outcome is the same.

[veti]

it kind of neuters your ability to make choices if the eventual outcome is the same.

Sounds reasonable to me. You can only control your actions, not dictate the final outcome. That doesn't mean you didn't make choices, it just means you're not omnipotent.

[GloatingSwine]

Sounds reasonable to me. You can only control your actions, not dictate the final outcome. That doesn't mean you didn't make choices, it just means you're not omnipotent.

Your choices having long range consequences on large scale outcomes is kinda the core of Fallout though. Like the whole NCR exists because the vault dweller rescued one person from some bandits one time.

[Ortho]

I bought Fallout 4 recently. Any suggestions as to what mods I should download?

[Triaxx]

None straight away. Odd thing to say but see how you feel about the game a bit first. Then maybe pick up Sim Settlements if you don't enjoy manual building. MCM has made a return and most of the compatible mods on it's list are solid choices. Vertibird Jump is one that should have been Vanilla as far as I'm concerned. Everyone's best friend is nice if you like companions. I'm sure I'm missing a few good ones.

[ShneekeyTheLost]

So, I've got FO3 now, and I've got MO2 working (more or less). What sorts of mods are considered mandatory/highly suggested and what other mods come recommended for it, other than TTW? I do plan on a TTW run, but that is going to be separate from my FO3 run.

[Triaxx]

Nets borked right now but there's a mod for Iron Sights and weapon mods. Let's you make anything suppressed/scoped. There's also a Project Nevada style mod that adds needs (I turn them off), as well as a more complex injury system.

[Balmas]

So, I've got FO3 now, and I've got MO2 working (more or less). What sorts of mods are considered mandatory/highly suggested and what other mods come recommended for it, other than TTW? I do plan on a TTW run, but that is going to be separate from my FO3 run.

I assume you mean that you want to play Fallout 3 without TTW before you do use TTW?

If that's the case, then there are a number of mods that are usually suggested as a solid foundation.

Spoiler

Show

Fallout 3: Wanderer's Edition is to Fallout 3 what Project Mojave is to New Vegas, because they were made by the same team. That is to say, FWE tries to make Fallout 3 much more punishing and survival-centric than you'd get in vanilla. There's the need to eat, sleep, drink, and so on. Crippled limbs are genuinely debilitating. Weapons and armor are much less valuable and ammo is much more expensive, which means you spend less time hawking weapons at shops and more time agonizing over whether you can actually afford to feed that weapon you like. SPECIAL stats have a much greater influence over your character.

Personally, I feel like most of the decisions in FWE go a bit too far in making Fallout 3 a hardcore survival sim. Luckily, nearly all of the settings can be configured and adjusted to your liking.

Another good mod is Mart's Mutant Mod, which adds tons of new wildlife to the wasteland.

Cipcis' Auto-Save Manager (CASM) is an absolute must have, as it means you usually lose less progress when the game crashes.

Weapon Mod Kits allow you to do stuff like add laser sights, larger magazines, scopes, and so on to most weapons. This is one of those mods that got picked up and incorporated by the New Vegas devs as a good idea.

RH Ironsights is another good mod that does what it says on the tin, letting you use those pesky ironsights on guns.

Unfortunately, FWE, WMK, and RH Ironsights are a bit fiddly, and usually require a Blackened patch to make them all work right. All of them edit nearly every weapon record in the game.

These issues get more extreme when you introduce things like Energy Visuals Enhanced or any of Millenia's weapon retextures.

If you're dedicated to playing Fallout 3 before using Tale of Two Wastelands, following this guide will probably be a good start. I used it when I was preparing for my Fallout 3 Let's Play.

However, I will note that my best advice for people wanting to play modded Fallout 3 is to use Tale of Two Wastelands. You pay for it with a bit of stability loss, but the simple fact of the matter is that New Vegas benefitted immensely from the modding scene of Fallout 3. Most of the mods I list above--ironsights, hardcore mode, weapon mod kits--are integrated into the base game of New Vegas. What mods aren't included in the base game benefit from years of upgrades and improvements in the modding scene, like the NVSE version of CASM and the Fallout 4-inspired CASM. If you don't mind the stability loss, modded FWE is simply a better experience.

(Also, it's genuinely painful to go back and rewatch those old Fallout 3 videos. I had the enthusiasm, but less of the skill with, you know, editing that I have now.)

[ShneekeyTheLost]

I assume you mean that you want to play Fallout 3 without TTW before you do use TTW?

If that's the case, then there are a number of mods that are usually suggested as a solid foundation.

Spoiler

Show

Fallout 3: Wanderer's Edition is to Fallout 3 what Project Mojave is to New Vegas, because they were made by the same team. That is to say, FWE tries to make Fallout 3 much more punishing and survival-centric than you'd get in vanilla. There's the need to eat, sleep, drink, and so on. Crippled limbs are genuinely debilitating. Weapons and armor are much less valuable and ammo is much more expensive, which means you spend less time hawking weapons at shops and more time agonizing over whether you can actually afford to feed that weapon you like. SPECIAL stats have a much greater influence over your character.

Personally, I feel like most of the decisions in FWE go a bit too far in making Fallout 3 a hardcore survival sim. Luckily, nearly all of the settings can be configured and adjusted to your liking.

Another good mod is Mart's Mutant Mod, which adds tons of new wildlife to the wasteland.

Cipcis' Auto-Save Manager (CASM) is an absolute must have, as it means you usually lose less progress when the game crashes.

Weapon Mod Kits allow you to do stuff like add laser sights, larger magazines, scopes, and so on to most weapons. This is one of those mods that got picked up and incorporated by the New Vegas devs as a good idea.

RH Ironsights is another good mod that does what it says on the tin, letting you use those pesky ironsights on guns.

Unfortunately, FWE, WMK, and RH Ironsights are a bit fiddly, and usually require a Blackened patch to make them all work right. All of them edit nearly every weapon record in the game.

These issues get more extreme when you introduce things like Energy Visuals Enhanced or any of Millenia's weapon retextures.

If you're dedicated to playing Fallout 3 before using Tale of Two Wastelands, following this guide will probably be a good start. I used it when I was preparing for my Fallout 3 Let's Play.

However, I will note that my best advice for people wanting to play modded Fallout 3 is to use Tale of Two Wastelands. You pay for it with a bit of stability loss, but the simple fact of the matter is that New Vegas benefitted immensely from the modding scene of Fallout 3. Most of the mods I list above--ironsights, hardcore mode, weapon mod kits--are integrated into the base game of New Vegas. What mods aren't included in the base game benefit from years of upgrades and improvements in the modding scene, like the NVSE version of CASM and the Fallout 4-inspired CASM. If you don't mind the stability loss, modded FWE is simply a better experience.

(Also, it's genuinely painful to go back and rewatch those old Fallout 3 videos. I had the enthusiasm, but less of the skill with, you know, editing that I have now.)

You... actually make a lot of good points here. I may just go ahead and do TTW since it contains most of what I want to do for FO3 anyway.

The last time I tried to do a Fallout: New Vegas run on Youtube, I got hit with a content strike when I hit OWB due to Dr. Borous's political views, and the force with which he expressed them. I got the strike removed when I contested it, but still...

[Triaxx]

I'll gave to check but I'm almost certain I've seen a mod to shut him up for just that reason.

[Rynjin]

You... actually make a lot of good points here. I may just go ahead and do TTW since it contains most of what I want to do for FO3 anyway.

If you want the authentic New Vegas experience afterward, you can always just do all the Fallout 3 stuff on one playthrough, and then start a new game for New Vegas.

[ShneekeyTheLost]

If you want the authentic New Vegas experience afterward, you can always just do all the Fallout 3 stuff on one playthrough, and then start a new game for New Vegas.

I've already got eight hundred plus hours into New Vegas before I ever got FO3. So I'm good there.

[LibraryOgre]

I've already got eight hundred plus hours into New Vegas before I ever got FO3. So I'm good there.

So, what, you played half of it and then just gave up?

[Balmas]

You... actually make a lot of good points here. I may just go ahead and do TTW since it contains most of what I want to do for FO3 anyway.

I was about to present a list of TTW mods, but it looks like in the three-ish years since I played TTW, the devs went ahead and updated TTW from 2.9.4 to 3.2. As a result, some of the mods designed for 2.9.4 no longer work. I'd go through the TTW forums if you're looking for mods for it.

[Rynjin]

I know most of the bigger mods for New Vegas (like Project Nevada) have TTW patches.

[Balmas]

I know most of the bigger mods for New Vegas (like Project Nevada) have TTW patches.

That's actually explicitly one of the mods that doesn't work with the new version. Rather, the core version will work, but the extra stuff like Cyberware and the DLC patches will not.

[ShneekeyTheLost]

I was about to present a list of TTW mods, but it looks like in the three-ish years since I played TTW, the devs went ahead and updated TTW from 2.9.4 to 3.2. As a result, some of the mods designed for 2.9.4 no longer work. I'd go through the TTW forums if you're looking for mods for it.

Yea, I found the page which has TTW compatible mods. Pretty much everything not on that list is 'attempt at your own risk, and back that up first'.

But hey, they've got TTW AWOP, so I'm good.

[Rynjin]

That's actually explicitly one of the mods that doesn't work with the new version. Rather, the core version will work, but the extra stuff like Cyberware and the DLC patches will not.

Core should be enough, there are TTW compatible mods like Cyberware 2281 which have taken over the functionality of some of the other bits.