Any decent Fallout 3 mods?

[Ypoknons]

Well, you know, in reality peoples' body structure are different... some people have broader frames, arm/leg proportions, and yes, girls have different cup sizes. The good thing about Project D is that makes people different (and not completely randomly, naturally the courtesans have different body shapes from the um, hardy, women), yes it's unfortunate it's not available for the guys yet, I want to see thin people, flabby people, starving people and so on... Sure it's not FOOK or EVE but it definitely helps.

[PeZook]

Well, you know, in reality peoples' body structure are different... some people have broader frames, arm/leg proportions, and yes, girls have different cup sizes.

Reality is also a place where heavily irradiated people don't become immortal zombies, buses aren't equipped with nuclear reactors, and adding enough radioactive strontium to a soft drink to make it glow in the dark is a health hazard rather than a markeitng ploy.

But I'm sure making people fat and giving girls large hooters will vastly improve the realism of the setting.

[General Zod]

Well, you know, in reality peoples' body structure are different... some people have broader frames, arm/leg proportions, and yes, girls have different cup sizes. The good thing about Project D is that makes people different (and not completely randomly, naturally the courtesans have different body shapes from the um, hardy, women), yes it's unfortunate it's not available for the guys yet, I want to see thin people, flabby people, starving people and so on... Sure it's not FOOK or EVE but it definitely helps.

I find it more perturbing how so many npcs in FO3 have identical voices than how many have identical cup sizes.

[Ypoknons]

It's just one mod I thought improved an aspect of FO3. Many good mods have been covered already in the thread, I made my own little tongue in cheek addition and if you think of me as a little perv for it that's fine, I'm not really offended. There's others on my list, RTS is one, Enclave Commander is another, might have to start a new character for that one; some of the story mods like Arefu Expanded and so on...

The Pitt wasn't that difficult, there's parts that could be problematic for low level characters but there's ways to talk your way through most situations. Point Lookout can be difficult since some of the enemies have really have HP and there's not too many ways to around them... I'd level up for that one.

[PeZook]

Actually, I have dimonized female bodies installed on my copy, I just find it funny that realism, of all things, was your justification for wanting big knockers on the in-game chicks

[Ypoknons]

The Dimonized body replacer has a C-cup, which is surprisingly modest for a video game - Exnem's D-cup (or was it an E?) body replacer was most popular one for Oblivion. But I mean, the mod I mentioned does include some A and B cup sized female bodies; the realism of the distribution, I haven't tried

('cuse me ladies, if there are any reading this. Hope it doesn't seem too awkward.)

[aieeegrunt]

I have installed the Fallout Wanderer's Edition and have been playing it for a couple of days. Wow, this makes the game about ten thousand times better, Bethesda needs to hire people like this.

Why can't mainstream game companies these days turn out product as good as random part time modders? Is it design by comittee? Have games gotten so expensive to make that everything gets massively vanilla-ized because nobody wants to take any risks?

[Laughing Mechanicus]

I have installed the Fallout Wanderer's Edition and have been playing it for a couple of days. Wow, this makes the game about ten thousand times better, Bethesda needs to hire people like this.

Why can't mainstream game companies these days turn out product as good as random part time modders? Is it design by comittee? Have games gotten so expensive to make that everything gets massively vanilla-ized because nobody wants to take any risks?

I'm looking forward to trying FWE after the comments its had here.

Anyway, as to your second point, it is just a product of the way software is developed. A random modder can afford to spend and whole week faffing about with minor parts of the game to get them perfect, or experiment with changing them radically etc... for the programmer working on the game however, if spends a week perfecting some small aspect of the game then when it comes to his progress meeting he's going to have to explain why he hasn't implemented the umpteen features he has on his tasks list instead. This is also why games can be radically improved by patching - developers usually have a window of free time after the project where they can spend their time a little more liberally on minor changes (which often make a big difference).

[TC Pilot]

I've run into a few oddities that may or may not actually have to do with FWE being installed. For starters, new enemies have a tendency to respawn on loading or reloading a game. In one particularly glaring case, I cleared out a supermutant outpost, quicksaved, went to do some things, loaded the game, and found myself staring down the barrels of a minigun-wielding supermutant. Other times, I quicksaved before going into a fight, die, reload, only to find those same enemies have now vanished or are replaced with something different.

Some weapons also seem to be essentially worthless at the most inconvenient times, particularly shotguns, and particularly in VATS. A point-blank VATS shot to the head of, say, a supermutant with a 95% hit chance more often than not does absolutely no damage or only minimal damage, despite VATS saying it should have one-shotted it. Automatic shotguns appear to be all but worthless, too. I've lost track of how many times I've frantically hit the fire button only to have my jackhammer or CAWS fire maybe one in every ten times. Maybe I'm just doing it wrong, or maybe by non-existent Luck is to blame.

I've also run into a few weird radio glitches, like GNR talking about the success of Project Purity, despite the fact I haven't even gotten that far in the main quest.

Those aside (and I'm not entirely sure those glitches are actually the mod's fault), I'm convinced FWE is a better mod than FOOK. Combat is such that I can't simply power my way through anything without a scratch, and I'm absolutely paranoid when going through the sewers and metro tunnels that every one of those dead feral ghouls will come back to life and jump me when I'm not looking.

[PeZook]

I've also run into a few weird radio glitches, like GNR talking about the success of Project Purity, despite the fact I haven't even gotten that far in the main quest.

That's a problem with vanilla, too. It's annoying.

[PREDATOR490]

My load order:

Fallout3.esm
Anchorage.esm
ThePitt.esm
BrokenSteel.esm
PointLookout.esm
Zeta.esm
CRAFT.esm
CALIBR.esm
Project Beauty.esm
CrossModData.esm
Animy_prostitution.esm
StreetLights.esm
DCInteriors_ComboEdition.esm
RRCompanionVault.esm
RRGuards.esm
RR5MoreFemales.esm
RR5MoreMales.esm
Mothership Crew.esm
Destruction.esm
FO3 Wanderers Edition - Main File.esm
Mart's Mutant Mod.esm
EnclaveCommander-OA-Pitt-Steel.esm
TSC Air Support.esm
RTS NW.esm
CRAFT - Activation Perk.esp
Project Beauty- Broken Steel.esp
Project Beauty- Point Lookout.esp
Fellout-Full.esp
Fellout-pipboylight.esp
MegatonContracts.esp
bzBodySuits.esp
RRWastelandPosters.esp
RR No Vault 1 Protectrons.esp
RR Companion Vault Attackers.esp
Mannequin.esp
Draz conversions.esp
DIM TYPE3 conversions.esp
SchoolUniforms.esp
BlackWolf Backpack.esp
COMBINED WEAPONS.esp
sunglassescollection.esp
AdvancedReconGear.esp
DCInteriors_DLC_Collectables.esp
UPP - Pack 1.esp
TSC Air Support.esp
1PipboyPDA.esp
Friendly Portable Turrets.esp
Destruction - Main.esp
Destruction - Main - Statics.esp
Destruction - DLC.esp
Destruction - DLC - Statics.esp
Destruction - CP - Fellout.esp
FO3 Wanderers Edition - Main File.esp
FO3 Wanderers Edition - DLC Anchorage.esp
FO3 Wanderers Edition - DLC The Pitt.esp
FO3 Wanderers Edition - DLC Point Lookout.esp
FO3 Wanderers Edition - DLC Broken Steel.esp
FO3 Wanderers Edition - DLC Mothership Zeta.esp
FO3 Wanderers Edition - Followers Enhanced (BrokenSteel).esp
FO3 Wanderers Edition - Project Beauty.esp
FO3 Wanderers Edition - Project Beauty (Followers Enhanced).esp
WeaponModKits.esp
WeaponModKits - FWE Master Release.esp
WeaponModKits - OperationAnchorage.esp
WeaponModKits - ThePitt.esp
WeaponModKits - BrokenSteel.esp
WeaponModKits - PointLookout.esp
WeaponModKits - Zeta.esp
EVE.esp
EVE Operation Anchorage.esp
EVE - FWE Master Release.esp
EVE - FWE Master Release (Follower Enhanced).esp
EVE Anchorage - FWE DLC Anchorage.esp
EVE - FWE with WeaponModKits.esp
Mart's Mutant Mod.esp
Mart's Mutant Mod - DLC Anchorage.esp
Mart's Mutant Mod - DLC The Pitt.esp
Mart's Mutant Mod - DLC Broken Steel.esp
Mart's Mutant Mod - DLC Point Lookout.esp
Mart's Mutant Mod - DLC Zeta.esp
Mart's Mutant Mod - Project Beauty.esp
Mart's Mutant Mod - FWE Master Release.esp
Mart's Mutant Mod - Project Beauty + FWE.esp
RTS NW - Volume 1st.esp
RTS NW - Volume 2nd.esp
KelseyCompanion.esp
JessiCompanion.esp
GOD PACK.esp

Total active plugins: 88
Total plugins: 93

Fellout = Makes it extremely dark to the point you cant see at night. Going out at night with Night Ghouls running around = bad idea.
Streetlights = Improves some of the lighting from street lamps etc.
Destruction = Tries to make lots of stuff destructable. Things like consoles, ammo crates etc.
Real Time Settler = Make your own town and recruit villagers etc.
RR Companion Vault = Custom vault home complete with inhabitants.
EVE = Enhanced effects from energy / plasma weapons.
Weapon Mod Kits = Customise weapons by adding scopes, laser pointers, silencers etc.
Animy Prostitution = The sex aspect dosent intrest me but I like being able to issue equipment to random women.
Mothership Crew = Expands on Mothership Zeta. Essentially allowing you to become the founder of the "Terran Space Command"
MMM = Really good mod for adding new enemies and a shit load of them if your system can handle it.

As for Ghouls, they wont raise if you take them apart properly. Thus, take their head / limbs off or reduce them to ash.
Granted, it dosent seem to always work but if your really paranoid about having them come up after you, I suggest getting a companion.

The combat system around weapons tends to be annoying. The damage values in the pip-boy are not always accurate and this is especially true for shotguns. My weapon load out is:

Slot 1: Pulse Pistol (Peacekeeper Pulse Pistol from Farscape) - Quick Silent laser weapon
Slot 2: Pulse Rifle ( Aliens) - Spray and Pray
Slot 3: Pulse Rifle Underslung Grenade Launcher (Aliens) - Crowd Control and it works along the same principle as the rock-it launcher. Any grenade = ammo.
Slot 4: Gauss Rifle (Anchorage) - Good Sniper rifle that has a strong knockdown effect
Slot 5 / 6 / 7 : Tesla Cannon / Missle Launcher / Fatman / Grenades etc. - Misc stuff depending on what I find.
Slot 8: Command Radio (TSC Air Support) - Call in air strikes / troops or a transport from my Alien space ship.

[aieeegrunt]

I have installed the Fallout Wanderer's Edition and have been playing it for a couple of days. Wow, this makes the game about ten thousand times better, Bethesda needs to hire people like this.

Why can't mainstream game companies these days turn out product as good as random part time modders? Is it design by comittee? Have games gotten so expensive to make that everything gets massively vanilla-ized because nobody wants to take any risks?

I'm looking forward to trying FWE after the comments its had here.

Anyway, as to your second point, it is just a product of the way software is developed. A random modder can afford to spend and whole week faffing about with minor parts of the game to get them perfect, or experiment with changing them radically etc... for the programmer working on the game however, if spends a week perfecting some small aspect of the game then when it comes to his progress meeting he's going to have to explain why he hasn't implemented the umpteen features he has on his tasks list instead. This is also why games can be radically improved by patching - developers usually have a window of free time after the project where they can spend their time a little more liberally on minor changes (which often make a big difference).

Oh I totally see your point and you are right. Thing is though it's like Fallout 3 Vanilla fell just short of completion; they went through the effort of including all these objects like surgical supplies and medical braces and various tools and hammers that just become generic vendor trash. All FWE really does is take what already exists and tweaks it slightly; like giving a purpose to all that vendor trash. That really would not have taken that much more effort compared to what they already have invested in the game, and it increases the gameplay aspect a thousand fold.

So you spend 6 months coding all this vendor trash in, you might as well spend another two weeks and make it useful for more than just minimal cash value. Then there is other things like ammo actually having weight. Good golly I actually have to care about my loadouts now, and I can't just cart 5000 rounds of 5mm around as essentially free cash.

The other thing I like is being able to play Fallout and never ever touch the VATS system. I had my own homebrew mod that turned Fallout into an actual FPS, but FWE has that and a bunch of other stuff too.

The only thing I don't like about FWE is the occasional random crash to desktop since I started using it. I'm not sure why; it never ever crashed before and it's not like I am running a ton of mods, I have FWE and Fellout and that is it.

[MKSheppard]

Right now I managed to figure out how to set things up, and I am playing so far with:

FWE (Defaults except for HIGH GORE YES EXPLODE MOTHERFUCKERS -- I love bloody mess)
WMK

Yes I know, not a lot. Though I might put DIMONIZED females in; not for the cup sizes -- but so that their faces look a bit more FEMALE. Beth can make pretty good male characters with the CRAGGINESS; but they find it hard to do women's faces.

Anyway, so far; I'm liking FWE+WMK. I like the options to start as different kinds of people with different loadouts at the beginning, and a way to skip the opening vault sequence.

The lower levelling up (e.g. raiders only give you 2-3 xp points); is offset by the fact that even a .32 revolver from the vault with a damage of 40~ (It's in good condition) can kill raiders in one-two shots to the head in the Springvale School.

I also like the fact that guns and stuff don't degrade as fast; making having someone repair them for you actually economically attractive.

[Karza]

Some weapons also seem to be essentially worthless at the most inconvenient times, particularly shotguns, and particularly in VATS. A point-blank VATS shot to the head of, say, a supermutant with a 95% hit chance more often than not does absolutely no damage or only minimal damage, despite VATS saying it should have one-shotted it. Automatic shotguns appear to be all but worthless, too. I've lost track of how many times I've frantically hit the fire button only to have my jackhammer or CAWS fire maybe one in every ten times. Maybe I'm just doing it wrong, or maybe by non-existent Luck is to blame.

What kind of condition are those guns in? In FWE guns that are below 80% condition have a chance to jam every time you shoot. The chance of a jam gets bigger as the condition degrades, and generally automatic weapons are more likely to jam. As for the no damage thing, I saw it occasionally in vanilla, not so often in FWE. One notable variation of this were the ants in Springvale school's basement. Not sure if it's FWE or MMM that does it, but the ants there have something seriously wrong with their hitboxes. Hitting them seems to be completely random, with most bullets just harmlessly passing through them.

Actually, could someone take a look at those, and post what mods you're using? I'd like to know if it's some particular mod that does it, or am I just shit out of luck.

[aieeegrunt]

There is a good chance it's the jamming mechanic. I've never had that problem, but I always max out repair and have weapons as close to 100% condition as possible.

When your weapon jams you usually get some sort of jam clearing animation that plays.

The other possibility is either a bug in VATS, or when your weapon jams in VATS there is no accompanying animation, just what appears to be firing with no effect. I never use VATS so I cannot really say.

FWE is supposed to have some sort of weapon scanner function to show you the weapons true combat stats but I cannot find it. The Pip boy damage stat is pretty stupid and misleading.

[Karza]

FWE is supposed to have some sort of weapon scanner function to show you the weapons true combat stats but I cannot find it. The Pip boy damage stat is pretty stupid and misleading.

Press S in the weapons tab of your inventory, and you'll get the detailed stats of your currently equipped weapon.

[aieeegrunt]

Thanks. It's annoying not being able to bind stuff like that to a button on my controller.

[TC Pilot]

What kind of condition are those guns in? In FWE guns that are below 80% condition have a chance to jam every time you shoot. The chance of a jam gets bigger as the condition degrades, and generally automatic weapons are more likely to jam.

My weapons are usually somewhere in the upper-mid ranges, usually between about 80% and 50%. As distinctly possible as a VATS-jamming bug is, I find it hard to believe that it happens so often with supermutants and with shotguns. It's worth noting, however, that I was using the shotguns added in by the mod, not the standard combat shotgun.

Since then, I've become convinced I'm simply just not very lucky. For instance, almost immediately after getting the Backwater Rifle in Point Lookout, I was ambushed by several smugglers. 3 VATS shots resulted in 3 rounds of practically no damage inflicted. I was also completely baffled why loincloth-wearing tribals could seemingly tank my shotgun/assault rifle/whatever shots to the head no problem, only to discover that's not as rare as I'd have hoped. It's just one of those frustrating experiences that stand out in one's memory, like how I was repeatedly trashed by a glowing one in Dunwich because I'd go into VATS at the exact same moment in the exact same place, and end up shooting the broken light fixture conveniently placed between us....

As for the no damage thing, I saw it occasionally in vanilla, not so often in FWE. One notable variation of this were the ants in Springvale school's basement. Not sure if it's FWE or MMM that does it, but the ants there have something seriously wrong with their hitboxes. Hitting them seems to be completely random, with most bullets just harmlessly passing through them.

Odd. The changes to weapon damage seemed to have basically turned animals into target practice in my experience. A couple 10mm rounds is all I need to put down an ant. I just played through The Pitt and it was hilarious how Trogs would go down from a single bullet (though insanely frustrating looking for the last two damned steel ingots!!!!). Hell, even those Weemandango (or whatever those weird mutant pacmen added in by MMM are called) that used to tear me up in FOOK can be killed by 2 or 3 well-placed rifle shots.

Actually, could someone take a look at those, and post what mods you're using? I'd like to know if it's some particular mod that does it, or am I just shit out of luck.

I've been running FWE, MMM, Fellout, Project Beauty, and DC Interiors.

[Karza]

My weapons are usually somewhere in the upper-mid ranges, usually between about 80% and 50%. As distinctly possible as a VATS-jamming bug is, I find it hard to believe that it happens so often with supermutants and with shotguns. It's worth noting, however, that I was using the shotguns added in by the mod, not the standard combat shotgun.

I don't use VATS at all (the FWE-introduced bullet time is more to my liking), so can't say if that would have something to do with the damage glitches and such. But I think the assorted automatic shotguns are among the more unreliable firearms, so I wouldn't be surprised if their reliability went to the toilet quite fast after dropping below the 80% mark.

Odd. The changes to weapon damage seemed to have basically turned animals into target practice in my experience. A couple 10mm rounds is all I need to put down an ant. I just played through The Pitt and it was hilarious how Trogs would go down from a single bullet (though insanely frustrating looking for the last two damned steel ingots!!!!). Hell, even those Weemandango (or whatever those weird mutant pacmen added in by MMM are called) that used to tear me up in FOOK can be killed by 2 or 3 well-placed rifle shots.

Same for me. It's just the particular ants in Springvale school that are troublesome. The ants I've encountered outdoors and the fire ants in Grayditch go down no problem.