GUIDE General Feedback

[Kelmych]

I haven't tried it yet. Have you used it, and if so how does it conflict with or complement the other lighting mods in the guide?

[Destynova99]

I think there might be a step missing on the "eXcalibr - ammo eXpansion pack" installation, or the instructions are outdated. First it says "Do not select any Overide options." When I installed it, there weren't any options at all, besides whether to extract the bsa or not. Second the instruction of "Double click the mod in the left pane of MO and move CALIBR.esm to Optional ESPs." That leaves xCALIBR.esm active, but CALIBR.esm is listed as a master for xCALIBR.esm so that would result in a missing master CTD on game start. So are we supposed to move both esm files to optional, or does this issue get resolved later in the guide, or is there indeed a missing step?

[Kelmych]

If the external fomod installer is used there are two overwrite options; with the current default MO fomod installer these do not appear. CALIBR.esm from FWE is used in the the game, the version from this mod isn't needed.

[Destynova99]

Ah, that's why then, I don't use FWE. Thank you

[Kelmych]

If you don't use FWE you lose all the gameplay parameter management that it provides, even if you don't use other parts of FWE. I don't know of any other FO3 mod that provides this.

[Destynova99]

Well I stopped using Project Nevada in FNV because I didn't care for most of the features and it required too many compatibility patches, so it just wasn't worth it to me. I am assuming I would have the same experience with FWE. I'm not a fan of making Fallout more "FPS-like", the current options to use VATS or not depending on the situation is just fine in my opinion. The few options from it that I might like to use aren't worth the extra hassle for me. I understand many people prefer using FWE and PN, but I just happen to be one of the people who would rather not bother. If there's a compelling reason to use FWE that has nothing to do with bullet time or grenade hotkeys or other "FPS" conventions, then I might reconsider.

[Kelmych]

The main reasons I made FWE Core are for the game parameter management (e.g., for two particularly important settings see the Experience Options and Skill increase options in the "FWE Options" section here.), and the better stat balancing for weapons and armor (which has been adopted by most other mods) that makes it easier to get compatibility across a large set of mods. Most of the rest of FWE (added mods, etc.) can be turned off, but it might not be possible to turn off everything you don't want.

[Destynova99]

I understand that and I know I'm in the minority here so it's not something you should concern yourself with. I've never been into FPS games that much so making Fallout more like one doesn't interest me. And I've found that mods that add a lot of new weapons and ammo types tend to cause more headaches then they solve, not to mention it can cause "too many weapons and not enough ammo" situations, where there's so many ammo types that you can only find a small amount of each so you have to carry around a dozen weapons and switch constantly. Updated meshes and textures are cool, no problem at all with them, just in my experience mods that add a lot of new weapon and ammo types don't add much to the game and more often then not either unbalance it by introducing weapons that are too powerful or add so many new ammo types that you can never naturally find enough for the weapons you do have. So in my install, I skip mods like FWE and a lot of the extra weapons, and the mods that add lore-unfriendly new enemies. For now I'm leaving Calibr and xcalibr in the "optional" list unless I run into a mod that I want to use that needs them. I might change my mind later, it's been a long time since I played FO3 and what I found annoying or headache-inducing in FNV might not be so in FO3. 

[Kelmych]

If you aren't using FWE to provide editing of game parameters you might find Arwens Realism Tweaks useful.

[Adonis_VII]

I made some meshes so that Street Lights uses NMC's textures so that all the lights are a bit more HD if you want to use it: https://www.dropbox.com/s/hkc8i6j3gat6kte/Streetlights%20NMC.7z?dl=0 You can rehost it however you'd like. 

[Kelmych]

Thanks Adonis. I'll check on rehosting suggestions from the STEP staff.

[paradoxbound]

Good guide starting it this weekend you might want to add a section at the begining about FO3 GOTY and Windows 8 they don't play nicely together without a lot of messing about with compatability modes.
I followed this guide and it started working for me.
https://steamcommunity.com/app/22370/discussions/0/864956555011164413/

[Kelmych]

That approach seems a bit extreme to me. I've been able to get Fallout 3 and Wind 8.1 64 bit working together, not without some problems of course. I'm not sure how that approach, which in part requires using Windows 8 in a Windows XP compatibility mode, will work with the utilities such as ENBoost, Fallout Stutter Reducer, and New Vegas Anti-Crash that are used in this guide.

[Brainfever]

And FOSE which is mandatory. For example, me when I try to run fose_loader.exe under compatibility mode I just get a nice CTD before even making it to the main menu.

 

Not to mention, that changing compatibility mode on installers like the vcredist and dotnetFX exes makes no sense..

[GSDFan]

No problems here with Windows 8.1. Steam installed on my "E" drive and both Fallouts and Skyrim installed on an SSD, my "D" drive. My "C" drive is reserved for Windows and other installed programs.