Fallout 4 recommended mods [Archive] - SUBSIM Radio Room Forums

Skybird

08-21-21, 04:24 PM

For what it's worth, I just picked up Fallout 4 a few days ago. I was a massive fan of FO3 and New Vegas, but passed on FO4 at release and just never got around to picking it up. But it's on sale on Steam at the mo, and I got the GotY edition. having fun with it. You mentioned the settlement side of the game and I've just dipped my toes in to that. If you have any tips that would make this a better experience for me I'd like to hear them. Or any general FO4 tips. I'm level 8 or 9. If you know of a Fallout thread to move the discussion to that is cool, as I don't want to derail this one.

My most important tip for F4 is: mods. Beef up the enemy hostility and fighting activity, turn it all into a nb attklefield, the main quest is not relevant, as with all Bethesda games. Mods for improving the environment, it's looks. total black night, better and more light options. Advanced Follower mod, allowing you to form small parties of up to 5 followers. I will step up a small list of things I think are really interesting, will post it in some hours or tomorrow. Come back then. ;)

Doing a lot of The Hunter still, after almost ten years.

And here we go:

Skybird

08-21-21, 04:31 PM

I use these, and trhe sequence is the order in which the game lists them. I am not at Nexus, but use the ingame mod menu. I use more mods than these, but the others are indiovodual companions or wepaons, stuff, that is a quesiton of taste. I marked the mods that especially significantly change the gameplay and make the world much more - well, its a rumble pit, and looks better, and darker at night.

There are severla mods out there that add vegetation back to the worlds. The war is long ago and the planet is supporting life, so why no grass and bushes coming back?

Deadly Wasteland
Endless Warfare
True Storms
Coloured Workshop Lights
War of the Commonwealth (WOTC, apparently discontinued now)
Healthier Commonwealth
Deadly Gunners of the Commonwelath
Deadly Raiders o.t.C.
Everyone'S Best Friend (Dogmeat)
Dogmeat doesn't affect stealth
Manufacturing Extended
Real Nights with shorter Real (something)
Settlements Light Out
Diamond City Surplus Now Has Everything
Snappable Junk Fence
closethatdoormod
Settlement Management Software
Conquest Build New Settlements
Lowpolys Settlement Furniture
Workshop Rearranged
Portable Jetpack
Endless Warfare DLC Fixes
SKK Instant Battleground
Amazing Follower Tweaks AFT
Improved Brotherhood of Steel
SKK Combat Stalkers
Cheat Terminal
SKK Fast Start New Game
SKK Settlement Attack System

Red stuff is the top stuff.

Threadfin

08-23-21, 07:59 AM

Thanks for taking the time to provide that list. Noted. It would be interesting to know what you like about each one, but no need to expand on it.

Mods disable achievements? I have not installed any mod yet, and I've reached level 15.

Mod suggestions are welcome, but the thing I was asking about was settlement tips. Just curious of you had any ideas to streamline that or do them in a better or more efficient way. Like for example how much effort you put in to arming the settlers, how you go about it.

I've been rolling with Piper for a few hours. But so far I'm not too keen on the follower thing. It might be cool for the story, commentary, quests and that sort of thing, but from a tactical perspective it's pants lol. Constantly crossing my sight lines during combat which is annoying AF. The companion bonuses are not so strong I can't live without them. I might go back to dog meat and just ignore this. I'll give Nick a go too and then decide. A loner's more my style anyway, so I'm leaning toward going the Lone Wanderer route after all.

Made it to level 15 yesterday so moving right along. I wish I had spent my SPECIAL points slightly differently. I would have put a couple fewer points in Intelligence, and more in Luck and Charisma. I thought high Intelligence would pay off with more XP, but then I saw the Idiot Savant perk and that makes up for having low INT, although the trigger sound is also annoying AF. I'd love to replace that sound with something like the objective tone from Thief 2. Luck has the best group of perks for me.

I started with 3 Charisma, dropped another point with a book and then trained a fifth point and still have passed a single speech check so far. Knowing what I know now I should have put one less point in Perception and spent it in Agility. Even so I'm still doing fine but with some time in the game I can see a better starting build than what I went with.

I like the change that makes energy weapons use the normal perks instead of having its own. I'm dropping points in all three of Rifleman, Commando and Gunslinger. This way any weapon I pick up will be covered with additional damage output and the other bonuses such as ignoring a percentage of armor. The gunplay's pretty good in FO4, at least the free-aim is better than the previous games. In a sense it feels like FO4 is a shooter with RPG elements, whereas New Vegas and FO3 felt more like RPGs with shooter elements.

Cyborg322

08-23-21, 01:58 PM

https://www.nme.com/news/gaming-news/fallout-4-modders-are-deleting-their-mods-to-protest-nexus-mods-change-2990283

Nexus is the place to go but that's now in question

"'Fallout 4' modders are deleting their mods to protest Nexus Mods change. After a change to Nexus Mods which means modders will soon be unable to delete their own mods, Fallout 4 modders are using the one-month grace period to pull their content from the site"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzPzEyxNs_U

Skybird

08-23-21, 02:20 PM

If you use those of the listed mods that turn the environment more hostile and the enemies more potent and numerous, you will like to have some helping hands around. :D Some of those enemy mods really turn up the volume. It becomes a war zone.

I tend to establish bases outside the pre-set places allowed by the game, the Conquest Build New Settlement mod allows that. I tend to cheat a lot, because building a new castle, garrison, whatever is most of the fun, and as I said: the environment can become very hostile with these mods, you also get a lot of loot if you survive and do not let others survive. :) For example there is a parking house east of the Commons that I like to build in. Nothing is better than to have a little turtle bunker to turtle in, well protected. Feels cozy. Feels likehome.

I also like to use Abarnathy farm, and equip the settlers there, reinfoce their place, and give them additional guards.

Well, the possibilities are endless. I m ostky play sneaky, stealthy, hiding and using silenced sniper rifles.

There are more mods I use, I did only list those with really decisive changes on the gameplay and general feel. I tend to cheat for additonal guards in bases, and tend to have them kind of uniform per place. For exmaple this place only this kind of cloathing or armour and this or that type of weapons only. Collecting the needed stuff if part of my gameplay.

I also sometimes trigger an onslaught of the AI with 8x8 hostiles, in an urban place at night, and then its hide and seek and cats and mice all night long. Great fun.

Go for the Jetpack early. Its a life insurrance, and also gives you access to a complete new world - that world several floors above your usual playing ground.

Check the mods carfully. Some of them come with setup menus you want to carefully tweak to your needs.

---

On the Hunter games, I play Classic since almost ten years now. I recommend to enjoy the immersion they allow, and play them as a relaxation. Do not be noisy, do not stand tall in the open, do not run around, and all in all do not do things you would not do in real hunting life as well. In COTA you must expoect to see aniumnakl aI ehaving odd and robotic, unfortunately. You kill one deer in herd, the herd flees for 20 seiocnbds,m then turns 180° and slwoly wlaks back, you klill the next, and it all repeats. If you do not stop yourself from douijng so, you can massacre the whol herd that way withoth needing to move yourself. Well. they have not fixed this since years and and they will not fix it. So, just dont do it, you have more fun that way. Shoot, kill, and then behave as if no more animals are there, harvest the torphy, leave the place and start new somewhere else. Its realistic, though not enforced by the game. Use any kind of binocular a lot, often the fur of animals is such that they are incredibly hard to spot if you do not "binucularise" them. Beware some of the species. While some can maul you in defence (elks for exmaple), others can actively hunt for you once you shot at them (wolf packs for exmaple in COTW). None of these games is perfect, but I find them very relaxing and satisfying if not trying to abuse their weaknesses and not pushing them beyond their envelope. I just allow to get immersed in the looks, especially COTW. I recommend all the reserves for it, they look different and are really beautiful. Its okay for me if I play one or two hours - and have not shot anything. Can happen. On other times I have had two dozen kills in 3 hours. :doh: Classic makes a big deal of shooting females where you shouldn'T, and using wrong callibre. COTW is far more forgiving and uncaring for these things. If you hunt for improving your statistics, use Classic. If you play for immerison and virtuality having some time in the woods for the sake of just being there, use COTW. It has its weaknesses, absolutely. But it looks beautiful, all reserves.

Skybird

08-23-21, 02:36 PM

P.S. I once wrote a beginners guide for Classic Multiplayer, you can find it here:

https://forum.thehunter.com/viewtopic.php?f=140&t=55536&sid=402882ffd615203ffedaeb703ae84a4b

or here:

https://steamcommunity.com/app/253710/discussions/0/540744934365625266/

Note that the viewing range of the game meanhwile got increased, due to improving PC specs. Also, several aspects are no longer valid since the game has changed its business model fundamentally some time ago.

There is the COTW wiki: https://thehuntercotw.fandom.com/wiki/TheHunter:_Call_of_the_Wild_Wiki

And the Classic Wiki: https://thehunter.fandom.com/wiki/Animals

Skybird

08-23-21, 04:04 PM

Threadfin

08-25-21, 10:37 AM

I've not seen a jetpack, nor had any mention of it that I recall. Maybe I'll stumble on it and avoid spoilers for now. I'm level 23 now.

I appreciate the mod advice, but so far I'm unmodded. Frankly, I need to play a game for a while to know what I might like to change. No mods for modding's sake. FO4 isn't the most stable game I've played, it's crashed a few times already, usually when fast traveling, and adding mods won't do anything to reduce this. There are a few I will probably install at some point, but at 50 hours in I'm not feeling compelled to do so yet.

I'm having a good time with this game. It had been years since I had played a Fallout game and it's cool to do it again. So many neat touches that appeal to me.

I got ballistic weave after reading about it on the 'net. I probably wouldn't have done so otherwise. That is a big boost to armour rating.

On a different forum I talked about how I regretted my initial build, the way I spent my SPECIAL points. Having gotten in to the game it became clear how I should have done it. Anyway, this is what I wrote there and just adding it here

If I were to do it over this is how I would have spent my initial SPECIAL points. Since levels have no cap, and points and perks are not limited (until you run out of perks), it isn't that big of a deal. But if I had paid more attention, and knew what I know now, this is how I would have gone at the start.

Strength (3) -- To get to the Armorer perk. Not too concerned with melee, and while additional carry capacity is worthwhile, each SPECIAL point only raises the capacity by 10, which isn't worth a point to me.

Perception (4) -- To get the Locksmith perk, which is very useful. Five points would get Demolition Expert, and that was my plan. But I hadn't realized you cannot throw grenades in VATS any longer, which sucks, and so I'd keep it at 4. This affects VATS accuracy too though. Then again, with better shooting mechanics in FO4 VATS is not so crucial any more.

Endurance (1) -- Dump stat. The perks in this tree are mostly centered around survival, damage resistance, chems and so on. Useful, but for me the least important tree and points are better spent elsewhere.

Charisma (4) -- The target is Local Leader at level 6, but not needed right away, and the first You're Special can be spent to raise it to 5. Then train, find another book or find the bobblehead to get to 6 to get Local Leader, which networks your settlements and allows higher-tier buildings. Can be ignored if you ignore the settlement side to the game. But if you don't you'll want the Local Leader perk.

Intelligence (4) -- To get to Hacker. I made the mistake of sinking 7 points in to INT, because I thought that was a good idea to get more XP. But with the Idiot Savant perk (Luck tree) this really wasn't necessary, and I don't care about the level 5, 6 and 7 perks (Scrapper, Science, Chemist). This would have given me three points back. This decision nags at me. It's the sort of thing that usually makes me start over eventually. But since points are unlimited in FO4 I'll stay the course and can correct this over time.

Agility (5) -- To get to Action Boy. VATS is less vital for me in FO4, but it's still fun to use and can be a life saver in tight situations against mobs. 3 points to get to Sneak is bare minimum. Sneak is very powerful in Fallout.

Luck (7) -- To get to Critical Banker. Aside from Bloody Mess (level 3) I like every perk in this tree and if I were to eventually max one out it will be Luck.

Cyborg322

08-25-21, 10:47 AM

fallout 4 un official patch is recommended for bug fixes

Skybird

08-25-21, 11:36 AM

The Jetpack is available on a shelf in the superduper market in Lexington, once the mod is actiavted.

What it does, is this: normally, the Jetpack is available only for power armour, you can create it normally in the game if you have the skill level, by altering your powerarmour accordingly. It adds the same technology in a pack that you can wear like a backpack, no matter your armour, you do not need powerarmour.

I tend to not use it for powerarmour. And I play in powerarmour only rarely anyway.

Skybird

08-25-21, 11:41 AM

Consider the light mods, darker nights and lights out. It makes things more realistic at night, imo. It makes no sense to have all these light sources at night in a world as devastated as this one.

It can also create meeting situations with big surprise effect. :) I have had "get scared!"-moments with it, really. Its not oitchblack, but much darker than the default night world.

I have occasional crashes, too, everybody has, but the modding status does not affect the frequency of this with the only exception of the WOTC (war of the commonwealth) if that is tuned with too many enemies and gangs, it overwhelms the CPU indeed. I mean it turns streets and blocks into real warzone, with dozens of enemies starting to go after each others throats. I use it, but only at medium settings outside cities, and low settings inside cities (can be tuned separately).

Threadfin

08-26-21, 12:58 PM

Skybird

08-27-21, 04:37 AM

I did not consider it to be a spoiler. That powerarmour can be equipped with self-made jetpacks, is known since long and is a usual game element. That now even unarmoured people can find one such unit (not craft it, so the item still is really unique!), is the only change. And it makes no sense, imo, to demand a player to search for one single item, in this world of Fallout 4, a huge place, without any hints on where too look and what to look for.

I think of it this way, that when you move aoprudn in heavy armour, you first must get out of its cockpit to become light enough to fly. Also, you may have enjoyed proteciton from the armour (at the cost of noise), but if you want to win in vertical mobility, you must accept to lose a bit of protection. And as I said, some of the mods I listed make the enemies more lethal and much, much more numerous.

However, if you feel a loss due to my revelation, I'm sorry.

Cyborg322

08-27-21, 05:33 AM

Haha so much for avoiding jetpack spoilers :)

Appreciate the comments and advice. I'm sticking with no mods for now, but that may change. I'm enjoying vanilla and maybe modding's for a second run.

Level 25 now, I'm probably going lone wanderer as the companions aren't working for me. Just me and the dog in the wastes.

With the vanilla game you almost certainly will run into bugs with dialogues which can be a pain to resolve. Console commands can get you out of some situations

Threadfin

08-27-21, 07:41 AM

However, if you feel a loss due to my revelation, I'm sorry.

No, nothing so serious. I just found it funny that I said I would avoid spoilers and the very next post was full of them. It's fine.

Cyborg, I've not noticed that, the technical issues I've seen have all been stability related. CTDs at times, usually when fast traveling.

Threadfin

09-03-21, 12:33 PM

I'm still playing Fallout 4 and having a great time with it. I hit about level 33 in my first run, but frankly I was starting to feel a bit too powerful and thought about my New Vegas days, and how much I enjoyed Hardcore mode and the challenges it brought.

And then I noticed FO4 has a Survival mode, which is quite similar. I decided to start over in this mode. And so far I think it's a fantastic way to play this game and honestly I can't see going back.

It's far more challenging, especially in the early going. Everything one-shots you, and the survival elements like radiation, hunger and thirst, not to mention a whole litany of afflictions and maladies you can pick up, give the player a lot more to think about, prepare for and deal with. But I really like it.

Survival has transformed FO4 for me, making it more like the game I want it to be. For players who enjoyed NV's Hardcore mode, or something like the Misery mod for Stalker CoP, they'll be right at home in FO 4 Survival.

There are some brutal restrictions such as no saves aside from when sleeping, and no fast travel at all. But it really is transformative, completely altering my mindset and approach in a very appealing way. Not for everyone, but for those who like this sort of thing it's a great way to play Fallout.

Skybird

09-03-21, 03:21 PM

Skyrikm had a mod, I think name was Frostfall or something like that. You had to eat and check body temperature, and wear warming clothes. You ran from heatpoint to heatpoint else you could freeze to death or get seriously handicapped in combat from the cold you expereinced.

However, I prefer these kind of games to be more war aciton fopcussed, a bit more action form many more and tougher enemies. Then it m akes mroe sense to micromamnange y gang, to equip them best way you can, and maintain a stronghold.

Again I recommend to also look at The Hunter. Not survival, but an immersive sandbox game it is.

I once created a big mod for ArmA1 and ArmA2, where the whole place was triggering random enemy patrols in hotpoints and along streets, rnadom generation, so unpredictable. Took quite soem tiekj to set these scenarios off. I dropped into that place with a sqaud, and then it was just surving for as long as possible. Woirkewd greta for a line wolf mission, 3-4 men squds mission, squadroin mission, severla nights and days ingame time. I loved to play ArmA that wa ymore than in any other. I always hoped for an SP game mode like this doing it mnore prfessionally in design, but it seems there never was one, it all is focussed on MP, not my thing that is, and the AI coding by Bohemia is unfortunately lousy. Always has been since Operation Flashpoint. It always seemed to me to them focussing on MP always was their alibi so to not havign to engage with AI coding more seriously. I think that is a shame.

Threadfin

09-04-21, 01:16 PM

Frost Fall is Skyrim isn't it? But yes, I saw something similar for FO4.

I've not felt compelled to mod anything yet. A few minor tweaks would be nice, and darker nights for sure, but in the main I'm happy with vanilla. It's running very well, has been stable since starting Survival anyway.

So for the near future anyway I'll stay the course on vanilla FO4, but I appreciate the modding advice and will keep it in mind.

Skybird

09-05-21, 08:04 AM

The darker nights mod is safe to use and puts no stress on the installation. Can be switched on and off without problems in the mod menu. Just try it, and if you do not like it, throw it out again. Dark nights in this game really adds tremendously to the mood and atmosphere.

The weather mod too is impressive, gloomy.

les green01

09-05-21, 03:01 PM

when i played fallout 4 or skyrim i use the survivor mods a lot 2 fallout mods i loved was the m-14 and the m-79 mod

Threadfin

09-06-21, 08:39 AM

Mods disable achievements right? Or is there another mod to mod that out?

Most folks won't care but I like to get them, especially in Fallout 4, which I think is the only Steam game I've noticed where every achievement is hidden.

Still playing, hit level 22 in Survival and went and bought Overseer's Guardian, took it back to Sanctuary, modified it for hardened receiver to convert it to semi-auto, swapped the scope for a dot reflex sight and it is now my main carry rifle and it wrecks. Could carry me through to the end. Great weapon.

les green01

09-06-21, 10:56 AM

last time i'd play mods disable achievements but that was over a year ago if you mod one of the first ones i would do be a weather mod like true storms and mods that makes the game harder then i like the weapons mods i love westerns so i use a henry mod 1873 single action even clothes they wore back then only problem i had with fallout and skyrim for me the map to small i like to roam and get in trouble

Skybird

09-06-21, 02:56 PM

Cannot comment on Steam acchievements, dont care, dont even know what they are and what they do.

Anyhow, you could start a test game with mods you want to check out, and if you do not like it, you just load an older savegame from the previous match/strain. You could also load an old savegame from early in your current strain, if you want to skip the avatar setup sequence, do so with the mods active you want to check. If you do not like it, leave, swithc mod off in mod menu, and load your latest savegame, and you should be fine again. I did this a lot.

Just saying, I dont want to missionize you into something. Its just that you risk your soul's salvation if you don't do what I tell you. :sunny:

Skybird

09-06-21, 03:27 PM

Some things that I use mods for, is building my own strongholds, sometimes inside existing buildings and settling areas, sometimes constructing everything from scratch and in a place of my choice. I also use multi-follower gangs, and additional comopute rocntrolled base staff: farmers, guards, soldiers, medics, work station staff.

Me and my band in an earlier game strain, in a small self-made bunker on the East. coast. Its just a hideout to escape radiation storms, and very small, but robust.

https://i.postimg.cc/sx92pXqt/Screen-Shot0.png (https://postimg.cc/WqzjV22n)

All the followugn from my current game, and ma main base in the castle. I additionally use a mod cleaning up the castle.

Main restaurant.
https://i.postimg.cc/8C0wSkKQ/Screen-Shot1.png (https://postimg.cc/jWyy6TYZ)

Main washing room and showers. There are two more, smaller ones, mainly for toilets.
https://i.postimg.cc/TPpqCMRk/Screen-Shot2.png (https://postimg.cc/cKGnLztY)

Pub/Bar.
https://i.postimg.cc/fbtmYcKp/Screen-Shot3.png (https://postimg.cc/xkQX2bB3)

https://i.postimg.cc/63x2RDT4/Screen-Shot4.png (https://postimg.cc/SXVxb16m)

Skybird

09-06-21, 03:32 PM

https://i.postimg.cc/3Jk88tJs/Screen-Shot5.png (https://postimg.cc/vcdFXLnh)

Farming glass house with artificial suns.
https://i.postimg.cc/g0mbZsmk/Screen-Shot6.png (https://postimg.cc/BjYzWxjd)

https://i.postimg.cc/pd23TdJm/Screen-Shot9.png (https://postimg.cc/PCRSVTcH)

Sleeping halls 1 and 2.
https://i.postimg.cc/9FyWwrZb/Screen-Shot7.png (https://postimg.cc/gnk9fcML)

https://i.postimg.cc/g02d7s5t/Screen-Shot12.png (https://postimg.cc/5XTZYBf8)

The old man's cabin. Mine.

https://i.postimg.cc/jSZYyN5H/Screen-Shot8.png (https://postimg.cc/XrGPbr9q)

les green01

09-06-21, 03:38 PM

you guys are giving me the urge to play fallout again

Skybird

09-06-21, 03:38 PM

Snacking guards at the armory.
https://i.postimg.cc/fbpFvvh9/Screen-Shot10.png (https://postimg.cc/XZKQjdqj)

Metal porn.
https://i.postimg.cc/jqXcxhk4/Screen-Shot13.png (https://postimg.cc/yWDcn0KD)

https://i.postimg.cc/HLX0f0y5/Screen-Shot11.png (https://postimg.cc/3yrDGv9J)

That metal is needed if you visit Far Harbour in such a heavily modded format like I do. The place is pure hostility, and the fights are epic. Every visits starts a new world war. With a gang of 5 in powerarmour, maxed out, and maxed gatling lasers and miniguns, I still get sometimes my inner organs delivered back home as pralines.

Thats what i like so much in this sandbox. I can play sneaky and stealthy at night, with raffinesse and silenced sniper rifles taking prey - but I can also unleash a chaotic mega battle that Ridley Scott's Gladiator would pale in envy and ILM wonders whats going on. Biggets battles I have done are around 64 AI enemies versus me + 5 followers + 18 garrison troops + 5 miolitia patrol. Especially at night with energy weapons and explosives used a very impressive sight. Save game befoe starting such battles, there is a 1:10 chance that the game will crash. I accept that.

Skybird

09-06-21, 04:08 PM

One of the many different Red Rockets there have been...
https://i.postimg.cc/rwyJbZGr/Screen-Shot14.png (https://postimg.cc/N5Vm24zs)

https://i.postimg.cc/fypNFSp3/Screen-Shot15.png (https://postimg.cc/H8wR8npH)

https://i.postimg.cc/3J07G902/Screen-Shot16.png (https://postimg.cc/vcypFrzm)

https://i.postimg.cc/SstF2zyZ/Screen-Shot17.png (https://postimg.cc/k68hLGR8)

https://i.postimg.cc/jqmYRN32/Screen-Shot18.png (https://postimg.cc/JtN2qyLC)

Skybird

09-06-21, 04:10 PM

https://i.postimg.cc/zBQ6XZj6/Screen-Shot19.png (https://postimg.cc/S2WDDPHf)

https://i.postimg.cc/JzmrWZtJ/Screen-Shot20.png (https://postimg.cc/jLg0HWHd)

https://i.postimg.cc/yYK4JBBC/Screen-Shot21.png (https://postimg.cc/JtpdgfGp)

https://i.postimg.cc/bvsKXw0k/Screen-Shot22.png (https://postimg.cc/cKGDwZbL)

Skybird

09-06-21, 04:13 PM

Moonbase Sanctuary-1 :D

https://i.postimg.cc/GhX7c1mQ/Screen-Shot30.png (https://postimg.cc/4mhb5qt7)

https://i.postimg.cc/ydhjtMG0/Screen-Shot25.png (https://postimg.cc/Ppx18RTq)

https://i.postimg.cc/HskzvP97/Screen-Shot26.png (https://postimg.cc/s1b5vm8V)

https://i.postimg.cc/25DBM1NX/Screen-Shot27.png (https://postimg.cc/DSxZbyZq)

https://i.postimg.cc/9FwRfdWn/Screen-Shot28.png (https://postimg.cc/BXsQY1PT)

https://i.postimg.cc/7ZvCJ5hY/Screen-Shot29.png (https://postimg.cc/4m54rNpr)

Skybird

09-06-21, 04:32 PM

Places wehere I often cionbstruct, are Abernathy Farm, and two flat roof areas at The Commons, one in the south-west-corner that offers plenty of space but needs some tricks to deal with uneven surfaces there, and the other on the Eastern side that can be accessed through a parking house, a small place there is. The Abernathy Farm I have buk,d so many times it makies me dizzy by now. I usually deconstruct the site inside the tower mast completely and then build new, but there are a few places were invisible walls and obstacles remain, two or three such places in the upper floor. One has to know these, then one learns how to build new walls right in these places, and then the AI does not has people trying to walk through them anymore. I built small concrete hats there, I built wooden cozy farm houses there. I built three floor red stone buildings in that powermast there. I built modern institute module buildings there. One has to learn some tricks so to be able to melt the metal mast into the selfmade construction, its often a question of sequence in which new elements get added to make it work, while otherwise it would not fit. I think by now I am a base construction veteran. :)

Some of the buildings were so absolutely "gemütlich" and cozy that I would not have minded to move right in there.

Threadfin

09-09-21, 08:06 AM

you guys are giving me the urge to play fallout again

Everyone's doing it! Haha, why not?

Great shots Skybird, thanks for posting them. Your modded install looks great.

I have yet to take to the building side of the game. A few tactically placed walls, some turrets, beds and water and I call it a day. I treat settlements as crash pads, and a place to save my progress (survival mode).

I usually get in to that side of games, but so far it has not taken root with Fallout 4.

I hit level 33, and it's all going well. I'm past the 'hobo phase' and have lots of great perks, and weapons with modifications. I did ballistic weave on a set of army fatigues and a newsboy cap, together they provide 180/180 before any other armor pieces are put on. Seems a bit OP but there ya go. Having a great time with Fallout 4, glad I decided to give it a go.

les green01

09-09-21, 07:04 PM

downloading it now have to take look at the mods again

Platapus

09-13-21, 05:21 PM

I like to take full advantage that the buildings I construct obey absolutely no rules of physics. :D

If the game allows me to do it, it ain't cheatin' :yep:

Platapus

09-13-21, 05:23 PM

I did ballistic weave on a set of army fatigues and a newsboy cap,

I like ballistic weave on the Silver Shroud outfit. :D

Threadfin

09-15-21, 07:41 AM

I like ballistic weave on the Silver Shroud outfit.

You're rollin' with style.

Still playing. Hit level 48 in Survival mode, no mods. Having a good time with this game. Survival mode keeps the challenge up, and past the point where I felt immortal in normal mode. My character can deal some serious damage, but the enemies can too. The NPCs deal +400% damage over normal, so even with a high armor rating and some DR bonuses there's a real chance to be killed, which honestly there was not in normal mode by about level 35. This increased lethality for the enemies keeps you on your toes and makes moving around the map fraught with danger, which is key to keeping me engaged.

One of the best parts of Fallout 4, and both FO3 and FNV too, is that the upgrade system and perk trees are fantastic. So many useful and cool perks, that even at level 48 there are still plenty I want to get. Compared to a game like say, Kingdom Come Deliverance, which had a decidedly uninspiring leveling system, FO4 is great.

I really like games that cause me to agonize over decisions and opportunity cost, and Fallout does this very well :)

Skybird

09-16-21, 02:44 AM

Jedem Tierchen sein Pläsierchen. :)

For me, its all about nest-building. And having an occasional huge firefight with a whole crew against a full company of enemies.

If you look for challenges by stronger opposition, use the improved raider and improved gunner mod. But dont complain, because these mods - well, improve them. Tougher armor. Stronger weapons. Bigger numbers. Strongholds of theirs. Once in a month I call all my ladies to arms and band of six that we are we come over Quincy and clean the place up again. These mods make it a gunner stronghold. There are then two dozens of them, or more, I am not certain, and they have good equipment. The party is usually extraordinarily hot. :D

Threadfin

09-16-21, 08:31 AM

Thanks once again for the mod recommendation, but as I said I am finding enemies lethal already, and have no compelling desire to increase that.

It was between levels 30 and 35 that the game shifts in to a more deadly arena, with the random encounters and patrolling NPCs boosted to more robust composition. More behemoths, death claws, rust devils and that sort of thing. Survival mode is supposed to have a 30 day re-population cycle, but since around that time (level 35 or so) it seems to be much faster than that, with some places restocked the next day. Plenty of action and XP on the map.

You and I have very different approaches I can see. I'm more in to the role playing aspect, living the life of the loner stealth sniper. I travel alone, or with the dog, bed down in out of the way spots, such as the roof of the Red Rocket near the BoS HQ in Cambridge or at Taffington Boathouse, which has attracted no settlers and I aim to keep it that way :)

I've aligned with factions of course for the quests, items, vertibirds and XP, but have no desire to actually BE a part of their organizations, just using them for the trinkets and trouble.

I spend the bulk of my time patrolling, just out looking for trouble, exploring, getting in to fire fights. I'm nearly level 50 and I bet I have yet to see half of the game.

Threadfin

10-04-21, 08:07 AM

Just a follow up. I finished the main quest, at level 76! I chose the Minutemen path, destroying the Institute, but managed to keep both BoS and RR as allies. It's great that FO4 has no level cap, and that helped to keep me engaged as the game went on. I think FNV had a cap of 30, before DLC when I played it.

I paid $10 for the GotY edition, and ended up playing nearly 350 hours. That was a shrewd purchase. I had a blast with this game, and I'm not done, but ready for a break.

I'm a big fan of FO3 and FNV, and while FO4 is different in many ways -- less RPG and more shooter for example -- it is a great game in it's own right. The game world is fantastic, it looks great, the gunplay is fun and the perks are strong, useful and varied. My character was obviously well-rounded with so many levels on offer, but Survival mode helped to counter this and keep the challenge level high throughout the run.

I dipped my toes in to all of the DLC, but interestingly none of it really grabbed me. Far Harbor is the one I did the most, but I didn't care for the terrain, the fog, the restricted sightlines. I never built a robot, and I went to Nuka World (the gauntlet is no joke on Survival mode) but having gone though so much to bring a brighter end game to the Minutemen I have no desire to now throw that away and lead the raiders.

All in all Fallout 4 is a great game and I'm happy I both gave it a pass at release and tried it now, with the game at its most seasoned and fleshed out with the DLC. It is a massive game experience, just stuffed with content and things to see and do. I had so much fun playing this I've reinstalled New Vegas for another go, this time with the DLC.

Skybird

10-04-21, 09:21 AM

Imagine to roam the Commonwealth in pitchblakc nights, frightening radiation storms and rioanfall and thunder that leaves oyuj blind, and a green vegetation that has returned (and blocking your sight additionally).

I have started a new match recently, and deactivated all the enemy imrpvoement mods and additonal stuff, elft only the environment imprvements active, and play Survival mode again. Haven't done that for years.

This game keeps me going. When I have imroived my character and base so mucnbt hat it becomnes dull, I immediately feel tempted to restart from scratch again. No oher game has driven me that excessively, not even Skyrim which i also tremendously loved.

Threadfin

10-04-21, 10:25 AM

A survival run? Awesome, have fun, I sure did.

Yeah, I didn't apply a single mod, bone stock all the way through and while there were a few things I would have modded to tailor it to my tastes, the vanilla experience was still a lot of fun.

Survival mode ironically was not challenging due to the survival aspects. Matter of fact, I ended with just four points in Endurance (the other SPECIALS were all much higher at the end) and I only purchased one Endurance perk, spending an early point on Life Giver (+20 health). At the time that represented 20% of my health and probably saved me a few reloads. But by the end it was less than 5% of my health and I saw it as a wasted point really.

The only two points I regretted spending were that one and another in Mysterious Stranger, which I took at level 27 and by level 76 I had seen him three times. Three!

No the challenge in Survival mode is the boost to enemy strength. The fact they do +400% damage over normal is a big shift and that's primarily responsible for keeping the challenge level high enough to keep me engaged. That, and the restricted saves, which impart a sense of mortality that quick saves erase. Being an hour in to a long mission, knowing that any death now would render all that game time, XP and loot lost, does a great job of shifting me in to a self-preservation mode. Finally the weight restrictions, and ammo with weight, had a nice effect on inventory management, which I liked.

Good luck in your run, and I'll check to see if you've posted any updates as you go along.

Skybird

10-04-21, 01:47 PM

Actually I use a mod named Cheat Terminal to allow savings. This is because occasionally the game crashes, like all Bethedsa games occasionally seem to do. Its a safeguard.

You really should check it out, it is an omnipotent mod that allows you to alter and tweak so many things, possibly hundreds, to your liking, while there is none you need to do. Possible you find things that you would like, since you also can reverse perk points spent, for example, and hundreds of other things.

Rejecting it you still can. But checking it out first you really should. Its the mother of all mods.

AFT (advanced follower tweaks) also is something one should check before rejecting it. And may it be only to diversify the outfit of your companion(s).

Threadfin

10-04-21, 03:14 PM

No one will believe me in all probability, but I had zero crashes through this entire run. Maybe the mods make it crash? :D

And thanks for the recommendation.

Skybird

10-04-21, 03:53 PM

Instable mods can add to the likelihood of crashes. But Bethesda games back to Oblivion always occasionally crashed for me. Not often enough that I cared, however, its not as if they are completely instable. They run stable enough, and then some.

Mods like War of The Commonwelath however are known to destabilise the game, especially when users poush their options (for numbers of actions,acvitvities, events, enemeies) too far. It can take some experimenting. I always would recommend to start with lower settings.

Many mods do not affect stability at all, btw.

I assume default game options, especially graphics, also can add to the chances for a crash.

Never mind for the recommendations. We are here to talk about a game we like, aren't we?

I found these:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFn7w6y-za4

The auhtor of this video says it somewhere: htese four mods you need to make the survival mode complete.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APfHlvbk_JU

There are many mods that make the enviuronment green again. The effects and atmpsheric chnages vary widely, spo this is just one maongst mayn options to choose from so that you get an idea what is possible.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5swLBoWTvPQ

Cheat Terminal
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePfZpIZxk10

AFT
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6o1REX8UmY

BTW, I get all mods via the ingame main menu, not via Nexus. Many authors also havce withdrawn their mods from Nexus due to their changed business policies.

Threadfin

10-06-21, 12:09 PM

Thanks, those look interesting, and if I were to return to FO4 I will have a look. For now I've moved on to New Vegas believe it or not. I was pleasantly surprised to find the cloud still had my saves from 2013! After kicking it around I decided to just pick up where I left off, nearly a decade later!

My character was level 17 ( this was a second run and now level 20 already) and I had made a few regrettable build path decisions, ones which I would do differently if starting anew. And while the graphics show its age, the core gameplay is still as good as ever and it's been fun coming back to it after so much time.

We talked about how FO4 is more shooter than RPG, and New Vegas is the opposite, and perhaps more in my wheelhouse, even if I did find FO4 to be a great game. I prefer the system mechanics in New Vegas. RPGs are my jam and so it follows.

I only have one DLC, called the Caravan Pack, which I think was a pre-order bonus. I have no other DLC, and the fact it exists is part of why I came back. I'll get all of that and see the game in a new light, even if it still looks old :)

Threadfin

10-16-21, 09:19 AM

Not sure why I keep posting, this thread's about mods, of which I'm using none. But it IS about Fallout, and I've been playing a hell of a lot of Fallout over the past few months. I played FO4 to level 76 as mentioned above, and then decided to return to New Vegas after eight years away. Found the cloud had my saves from 2013 and I picked up where I left off, at level 17.

Now I'm level 39, and I bought all of the DLC, and finished Lonesome Road and Honest Hearts, and now intend to dive in to Old World Blues. Playing on Hardcore mode.

While FNV may show it's age graphically, the underlying game is still great, and I'm having a good time with it. The DLC each add 5 to the level cap, and having them all raises it to 50, allowing me to build a stronger character than I ever could before with the vanilla cap at 30.

Fallout 4 is a fantastic game, I really like it. But it took a return to New Vegas to see how much it has changed. When I decided to belatedly give FO4 a go, I read some comments about how FO4 is a great game, but not a great Fallout game. I can't agree completely -- FO4 has enough of the Fallout soul to be a worthy installment in the franchise -- but there is some truth to it. The simple fact is FO4 is a shooter with RPG elements. New Vegas is a RPG. FNV is simply a deeper game, in terms of dialog, choice, build options, systems and mechanics. It's the Fallout game we would expect from a studio like Obsidian.

When I was playing FO4 I made a comment on a different forum about how striking it was there are so few skill checks in that game. Fallout needs skill checks everywhere, and FNV has them in spades. I see more skill checks in one random conversation than I saw in 300 hours of Fallout 4.

Things like this make the build path feel like it has more consequence. The skills system makes the build feel more specialized, there is simply more latitude than FO4. Perks are endless, but only available every other level.

By level 50 perhaps this has converged somewhat, enough points by this stage to have nearly all of the skills maxed, but the journey to this point is a more pure RPG experience that I prefer.

I'll give OWB a go, and maybe finish up with Dead Money before heading off to Hoover dam and the end of the game. It's been fun returning to this game after so much time. I always remembered it fondly, and spoke highly of it, but the details had faded. It's been fun to rediscover it after so much time had passed. It's still a great game.

Skybird

10-16-21, 11:18 AM

Cannot coment on NV. Only saying that per mod you can build in F4 whereever you want, and then see limitations only in the ammount of materials you need to build what you want, and collecting them, buying hem, whatever.

I know you are not interested in mods, you said it repeatedly. But mods are key to F4 open sandbox aspect. There are also mods for interactive city building, complete with autonomous settlers, inhabitants doing their daily businesses, and so forth. I used some of that years ago, it worked well, but my interest laid somewhere else. I do not see F4 as an RPG that much. Complex story-driven RPG aspects are not what I look for in this game.

Threadfin

10-18-21, 09:21 AM

The first time I played New Vegas, years ago, I used some mods. I recall having a companion called Willow, and that's a mod. I'm not anti-mod, but more that I just don't feel like I need them.

I didn't really take to the settlement side of Fallout 4, even though it's a robust and fairly deep side to the game. I treated settlements like way stations, not communities, places to sleep and heal and craft and eat, but not to make life better for the unfortunate masses who remain in place, never lifting a finger to attenuate the conditions they moan about.

But a water pump, a bed, a container and some turrets to watch over it all were about the extent of my settlement building. So yeah, mods to expand on the possibilities just has little practical appeal to me. I did end up building two of the arches, one at Hangman's and one in Sanctuary, but not much more than this unless a quest required it.

You've not played New Vegas? Interesting, and I can only recommend it. Obsidian are really good at this, and they made a great game, closer to FO3 than 4 I reckon in terms of how it plays, but it's worth your time if you enjoy RPGs, Fallout and good games in general regardless of how closely it aligns with your usual predilections. Grab the GotY edition on sale.

Skybird

10-19-21, 08:55 AM

I played F3 GOTY. Not NV.

I discovered Bethesda not before Oblivion. Oblivion, Skyrim, F3, F4, are highlight sin my gaming career. But of these, F3, being very good in itself, got me hooked up the least of these four games. Not that i did not lie it, I did like it a lot. But I like the other three better.

Threadfin

10-20-21, 10:48 AM

All Fallout is for sale on Steam at the moment. FNV GotY is 70% off.

I don't have much farther to go in FNV. I'll finish Old World Blues, kick around doing the fourth DLC, Dead Money, and then head for the finish. So I was wondering how FO2 stands up after all this time.

FO3 was my entry point, and I never played either of the iso Fallouts. It's really cheap and worth a punt perhaps. I'm a big fan of Fallout, and of that genre of RPGs, but I wonder if I am dipping my toes a little too deep with that game.

Edit: I thought FO3 was not on Steam, but I see it is. Lots of comments about crashing with Win 10. Hmmm, I might have a go.

Platapus

10-20-21, 04:07 PM

I could never get in to New Vegas. I thought the weapon degradation was way out of line.

And how many shades of brown on brown on brown can one game have. :)

Threadfin

10-21-21, 07:51 AM

Yes, the palette is limited isn't it? Everything's sort of brown-grey.

Weapons degrade too fast, agreed. And if you take the Hand Loader perk there are ammo types that increase this, making repairs something to be done regularly. I can understand your point.

But for me it's all no bother. This is standard RPG stuff. With the Jury Rigging perk you can use any semi-similar thing to do the repair. Weapon repair kits can be found or crafted. For me, this is akin to eating or drinking mechanics in Hardcore mode. Some will see it as an annoyance. Others will see it as one more thing to monitor and solve.

Having played FO3, FO4 and New Vegas, I'd have to put New Vegas at the top of the list as the best Fallout title. The others are both fantastic games too.

Platapus

10-21-21, 04:16 PM

I never could get the hang of ammo making in NV. Fortunately, it is really not needed if you watch your shooting.

Skybird

10-22-21, 06:05 AM

Anyone with me on this one? Then I see you out there in one year!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-LlfIXT8to

Much of the staff making this one already was part of the Skyrim and Fallout 4 crews.

After Starfield, in some years, that is, a new single player Elder Scrolls game (TES VI) is coming.

Threadfin

10-22-21, 07:24 AM

I never could get the hang of ammo making in NV. Fortunately, it is really not needed if you watch your shooting.

True, but the real benefit of this is not keeping stocks high, but making better ammunition, with increased armor penetration and damage and lowered spread. Hand loaded match 5.56 rounds for example do +15% damage and reduce spread by 65%.

The only time I made ammo because I was running low was in Old World Blues.

By breaking down the ammo types you don't use you get the powder, primers and lead you need. Hulls, or cartridge cases, are collected as you fire that ammo type (with Hand Loader perk), and more can be bought or looted.

About weapon repair, there are also two companions -- ED-E and Raul -- who can repair weapons for the player.